LIBRARY OF CONGRI 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




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JOHN B. FINCH. 



His Life and Work. 



BY 



/ 
FRANCES E. FINCH and FRANK J. SIBLEY. 



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FUNK & WAGNALLS, Publishers. 

NEW YORK : 1888. LONDON : 

18 & 20 ASTOR PLACE. 44 FLEET STREET. 



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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by 

FUNK & WAGNALLS, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 



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4S. 



TO 
MY ONLY CHILD, 

John D e> Leon Kinoh, 

"true portrait of thy father's face," 
THIS BOOK 

IS 

LOVINGLY DEDICATED. 

F. E. F. 



Be good, sweet child, and tet who will be clever ; 

Do noble things, not dream them, all day long. 
Sa shalt thou make life, death, and that vast forever 

One grand, sweet song. 

KlNGSLEY. 



PBEFACE. 



Grateful thanks are due to many friends for their 
kindness in furnishing facts and data for this history of 
John B. Finch. The father, brothers, and sisters, and his 
boyhood's school-mates and friends have been especially 
kind in carefully collecting the dates of events in his early 
life. 

Loving friends of his later years have laid their loyal 
tributes of affection plenteously on the altars of memory, 
and poetry's tenderest strains have trilled the threnodies 
of sorrow over the silent clay, mingled with their pasans 
of gladness for the beatitude of the ascended soul. 

These votive offerings are acknowledged through the 
pages of this book, and are woven into the story of that 
great life of patience and pain, of toil and triumph, of 
devotion to duty, that placed him in the van of Jehovah's 
marching squadrons till 

"God's finger touched him, and he slept." 




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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

John B. Finch, Frontispiece. 

Birthplace of John B. Finch, ) 

John B. Finch at the Age of Thirteen, ) 

Mrs. John B. Finch, 33 

John B. Finch at the age of Twenty-four, . . . .37 

Good Templar Missionary Tent, .83 

The Boston Conference, 227 

Right Worthy Grand Lodge Executive Committee, . 233 

National Prohibition Executive Committee, . . . 353 

The Home at Evanston, III., . . . . . . 381 

John D. Finch, 385 

The Home Office, 405 

The Lynn Auditorium, .... ..... 411 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

SONNET, "John B. Finch," by A. A. Hopkins xi 

INTRODUCTION, by Miss Frances E. Willard xiii 

CHAPTER I. 
Childhood and Youth 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Young Manhood 13 

CHAPTER III. 
Beginning Temperance Work 27 

CHAPTER IV. 
Red Ribbon Work 46 

CHAPTER V. 
The Good Templar Missionary Tent. , 82 

CHAPTER VI. 
The Inception of High License 106 

CHAPTER VII. 
Joint Debates 142 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Good Templar Leadership 207 

CHAPTER IX. 
Prohibitory Amendment Campaigns 252 



x CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. pasb 

No-License and Other Work 317 

CHAPTER XI. 
Temperance Literature ; 340 

CHAPTER XII. 
Political Leadership 349 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Home Life 373 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Incidents and Characteristics « 391 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Last Journey « 403 

CHAPTER XVI. 
In Memoriam * 44G 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Gems from Letters and Speeches '. 518 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Addresses . 

An Examination of the Issues 525 

Examination of the Issues and Defence 543 



JOHN B. FINCH, 
By A. A. Hopkins. 

Dead in his splendid prime, 

The master of surging speech ; 
Silent the lips that were strong for truth, 
Tender and touching for Home and Youth, 
Pleading the Cause of each. 

Dead in his manly grace, 

The leader we loved so well, — 
Silent his form at the battle's fore, 
Still are the hands that our standard bore 
Bravely till swift he fell. 

Dead in his loyal faith, 

The friend of our faithful trust, — 
Hushed is the heart that was true and leal, 
Tender the touches of love to feel, 

Fading so soon to dust. 

Dead at the conflict's front, 

The knight who could know no fear ; 
Silent the forces he led to-day, 
Hushed be our hearts as we pause to lay 

Garlands upon his bier, 



xii JOHN B. FINCH. 

Orator, friend, farewell, 

Knight of the Right, good-by ! 
Willing to fall in thy splendid prime, 
Fighting for God and His Cause sublime, 
Death, like a neighbor, nigh. 

Tears for the Right, bereft, 

Tears for the knight gone down !— 
Smitten and sore in the battle's brunt, 
He has but won at the surging front 
Victory's fadeless crown ! 



INTEODUCTIOK". 



It is an act of rare heroism and royal friendship combined 
that gives us temperance people the present volume. 

" Out of my stony grief, Bethel I'll raise," was the solemn 
thought of Mrs. Finch as she entered upon the work of pre- 
paring this memorial, and Brother Sibley, with all a 
brother's kindness, has devoted himself to the sacred task 
of helping her whose heart was hurt so sorely. 

We who sit in our pleasant homes, turning over these 
attractive pages, must read between the lines if we would 
know how much more is meant than meets the eye. We 
must study the handsome face of him who was Prohibition's 
peerless orator ; we must muse upon his great achievements 
and his generous heart, ponder the words of her who was 
his life companion : " He was just as much greater at home, 
than is the average man, as he was confessed to be greater 
abroad ;" we must then study the picture of his lovely 
Refuge, purchased with the coinage of his own affluent 
brain, and then think what it was to sit down in that grief- 
enshrouded home, whose firmament was robbed so ruth- 
lessly of its bright particular star, and try to tell the story 
of the past. I often think the highest proof of the heart's 



xiv INTRODUCTION, 

indestructibility is that even here, clogged by the flesh, it 
can bear so much and yet not break. 

As a man, Mr. Finch was to his friends sweetness and 
light, to his foes wormwood and gall. As a leader, he 
held official relation to one million temperance men and 
women — the largest number ever led by one man. His 
name was familiarly spoken in eight languages by his ad- 
herents. Pie was Prohibition's chief logician. His sword- 
marks are in every State where the fight has been, and his 
reply to D. Bethune Duffield, in the Detroit Opera House 
last spring, has not been matched in the annals of temper- 
ance debate. 

Handsome, graceful, of mellifluous utterance and win- 
some manners, good gifts were lavished on his birth ; his 
mind was quick as lightning, his memory magnificently 
stored, his will invincible. He marshalled argument and 
pathos, humor and fact, sarcasm and illustration, into 
phalanx solid as the Old Guard. 

Elsewhere among these pages 1 have had so much to say 
of the life, the character, and work of our departed leader, 
that further mention of them would be inappropriate here. 
1 responded to Mrs. Finch's invitation to write an introduc- 
tion to this book because it came from a valued friend and 
comrade in the temperance army, and because I would fail 
in nothing that could express my sisterly regard and admi- 
ration for him who passed so swiftly beyond the reach of 
earthly praise or blame. 



INTRODUCTION. xv 

I have always been a devotee of books pertaining to biog- 
raphy. More than any other single influence outside the 
hallowed ministries of my own home, the reading of biog- 
raphy has mortgaged me to the endeavor to lead a good 
and helpful life. Doubtless every one who is making a 
similar attempt has shared a similar experience. A famous 
general, on being asked how it was that he could ride up 
to the cannon's mouth, replied : " At first I could not ; it 
is the courage of having done the thing." Next to this is 
the courage of having seen that a thing can be done by 
some one else, whereupon Imagination, the angel of the 
mind, seizes upon the experience of that other and makes it 
one's own. Thus may many an untried but adventurous 
young spirit win from the brave and regnant life of John B. 
Finch the courage to 

" Break its birth's invidious bar, 

And grasp the skirts of happy chance, 
To breast the blows of circumstance, 
And grapple with its evil star." 






Rest Cottage, Evanston, III., January 1, 1888. 




THE LIFE OF 

JOHN B. FINCH. 



CHAPTER I. 

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 

O child ! O new-born denizen 

Of life's great city ! on thy head 

The glory of the morn is shed 

Like a celestial benison ! 

Here at the portal thou dost stand, 

And with thy little hand 

Thou openest the mysterious gate 

Into the future's undiscovered land. 

Longfellow. 

The childhood shows the man, 

As morning shows the day. 

Milton. 

"TT71LLIAM FINCH, father of John B., was born in 
* * Pitcher, Chenango County, in the State of New 
York, October 24th, 1819. October 28th, 1844, he mar- 
ried Emeline A. Fox, whose home was in the adjoining 
township of Lincklaen, where she was born February 10th, 
1825. 



2 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

The father and mother of William Finch were born in 
Schoharie County, N. Y. They removed to the western 
part of Chenango County in 1816, and passed the re- 
mainder of their lives in the township of Pitcher. 

The mother of Emeline Fox, though of Connecticut 
birth, was of French descent, her parents having emigrated 
to America only a year or two previous to her birth. Her 
father was born in France, came to America about the 
beginning of the war of the Revolution, joined the Conti- 
nental Army, and fought for independence till that memo- 
rable struggle closed. He-died, aged sixty-five, in Lincklaen, 
the same year Emeline was born. As far as is known, all the 
ancestors of William Finch and Emeline Fox were farmers. 

John B. Finch first saw the light in a humble farm-house 
in his mother's native town of Lincklaen, March 17th, 
1852. In a family of eight children he was the third son. 
With that matchless beauty of language which makes her 
lightest word a poem, Frances Willard said : 

" He had the happy heritage of these hard conditions — 
obscurity and poverty. But, passing by the palace with its 
cradled princes, Fortune paused within his humble home 
and emptied out her horn of plenty upon that royal head." 

When John was two years of age his parents removed to 
Union Valley, the adjoining town to Lincklaen on the 
south-west. Here they remained for nine years. Until he 
was twenty, all the years of John's life were passed in the 
quietude of farm life, ten to twenty miles from the railroad 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 3 

or from any large village. Boys and girls reared on the farms 
among the rugged hills of Chenango County had few oppor- 
tunities to learn by actual observation of the great world 
and its mysteries. 

An occasional excursion to neighboring picnic grounds ; 
a climb up some rocky ledge ; a journey to a hillside 
" berry patch ;" a day's angling along some streamlet or 
in the nearest mill-pond ; a hunt that never resulted in 
finding game — these were the principal spoils that fur- 
nished amusement to the boys among whom our great 
worker was reared. 

At three years of age he suffered a severe attack of scar- 
let fever, which left the body feeble and the constitution 
impaired. As he developed physical vigor so slowly, the 
pet name " Bird," cooed over his cradle by the anxious 
mother, seemed peculiarly appropriate, and no other had 
been given him, till one day he surprised the family by the 
bold declaration : 

" Bird ain't no good name for a boy. I'm goin' to be 
named John." 

This quiet assumption, full of dignity and determination, 
so won the brothers and sisters that they immediately 
adopted that name in their conversations with the little 
brother, and even the father and mother laughingly and 
proudly assented to that addition to a name which their 
bright boy was destined to immortalize. 

Too fragile to endure the labors and restraints of the 



4 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

school-room or the rude sports of the play-ground, he early- 
learned to depend much upon himself for amusement, and 
to find in the books his mother had taught him to read that 
companionship which his slender strength forbade his seek- 
ing among the children of his years*. When the care- 
burdened mother could catch an hour's release from the 
ever-pressing household duties, she would read aloud to her 
pale, delicate boy, lying on his bed and listening eagerly 
and intently. 

The slender resources of the family would not permit the 
purchase of a supply of books full of absurd songs and 
impossible tales supposed to be adapted to childish tastes 
and capacity. In their place the mother and the boy read 
such books of history and biography as their own home 
afforded and the neighbors could lend to them. Fortunate 
poverty, that permitted the mind to be filled with the story 
of great lives and great deeds rather than with the rubbish 
of some dreamer's fertile imagination. 

The father and mother were members of the Congrega- 
tional Church, and the children always attended Sunday- 
school, either the Congregational or the Methodist, which- 
ever was nearest their home in the different towns in which 
they lived. 

The mother's deep piety permitted no neglect of Chris- 
tian teaching in those long vigils by the bedside of her 
feeble boy. With the histories of modern times she wove 
the wondrous story of God's providences, lingering long 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 5 

and lovingly by the manger-cradle in Bethlehem, treading 
reverently along the shores of Galilee, and weeping by the 
thorn -crowned sacrifice in G-ethsemane. 

At the age of ten John began attending the country 
school nearest his home. But the foundation for his educa- 
tion had been laid long before by the loving mother's teach- 
ing — laid so deep and strong that the school-room and the 
recitation were but minor incidents in the search for that 
store of knowledge which he was bound to win. For four 
years in Union Valley and Pitcher he continued to attend 
the district schools near his home. His attendance was 
often sadly interrupted by lack of suitable clothing, yet he 
never " f ell behind " his classes. Lessons were never so 
long nor so difficult that he failed to master them. A 
single term was sufficient for his accomplishment of the 
ordinary work of two. Teachers wondered when and how 
his lessons were learned, and were greatly attracted by his 
quick, almost intuitive perception. Physical feebleness 
was more than counterbalanced by extraordinary mental 
strength. 

The years of home seclusion had not produced timid or 
retiring habits in the boy. Just as his whole mind was 
centred on his school-room tasks, so his scant physical 
strength was all put forth on the play-ground. His com- 
panions said he was inclined to be " masterful," but they 
readily accepted his dictation when they found that it 
meant new and unique devices for their amusement. 



6 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

"With the impetus of these sports and the farm labors now 
frequently required, the body began to develop more vigor. 
The intense love for his mother which had been nurtured 
during the years of her tender watching over his sick-bed 
now began to manifest itself in outward acts. He would 
thoughtfully anticipate her requirements, bringing a plenti- 
ful supply of wood and of water, and relieving her of many 
of the more burdensome household tasks. For her lie was 
never too weary to work, his feet never too tired to run 
upon errands. 

If the way seemed too hard to the young soul that some- 
times must have longed to slip the leash of fate and break 
forth into the realm of its ambitious dreams, the mother's 
smile brought back the sunshine of content, and gilded 
every cloud. 

One year at the district school the brightest boys and 
girls had been selected, our John among the rest, to recite 
and " declaim" on the last day of the term. His shoes 
were old and patched and worn, and he very much desired 
a new pair for this important occasion. Sore at heart 
because of the stern necessity that compelled her to deny 
this reasonable demand, the mother tenderly turned the 
boy's thoughts away from his disappointment with the 
words : 

" Never mind, Johnnie, do your best, and they'll look 
at your head, not at your feet. ' ' 

Directed thus from earliest childhood, it was natural that 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 9 

all the boy's aspirations should lead him in the direction of 
mental culture and intellectual development. While yet a 
small boy he gravely told his seniors that he would " be 
somebody in the world." 

Natural history studies were his favorites. Biography 
and ancient history had been deeply perused in early years 
with his mother's patient aid. To mathematics he gave 
such careful attention that he was enabled to pay part of 
his tuition in some of the higher schools by teaching classes 
in mathematics. Of grammar he seemed to have a ready 
mastery. For the modern languages other than his own he 
cared little, studying only what seemed imperatively neces- 
sary to attain that comprehensive education for which he 
was so earnestly working. He studied Latin and Greek to 
give him broader ideas of the structure and formation of 
his own language. 

But in natural history and botany he found a well-spring 
of unfailing delight, and no boy or man was better 
acquainted with the fauna and flora of that region. He 
chased the small game of the woods, more to study its habits 
than for the pleasure of killing, and he knew the haunts 
and ways of every furry denizen of the forest for miles 
around. Equally ardent was his pursuit of flowers, and no 
triumph of his later life ever filled his soul with greater 
pleasure than the discovery, in those boyish days, of some 
new or rare floral specimen in field or forest. 

His mother loved flowers, and cultivated the prettiest of 



10 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

shrubs and vines around her home. John spaded the 
flower-beds in the spring, and helped to sow the seeds and 
care for the growing plants during the summer. These 
labors stimulated his interest, and watching by his mother's 
side for the daily development of the tender shoots, intensi- 
fied that interest into a passionate fondness for all the 
beauties of leaf or bloom in the vegetable world. 

The aptness at retort which was a marked characteristic 
of his public life was developed when a child. Stopping 
one day at the country " store" on his way from school, 
he was accosted by a clergyman whose austere mariner had 
made him very unpopular with " the boys." 

" Well, John, what do you intend to make of yourself 
when you grow up ?" 

" I shall try to be a lawyer. If I fail in that, I'll try to 
be a horse-jockey, and if I can't succeed in that, I'll be a 
minister," was the reply. 

Rapid progress in his studies during the few weeks lie 
was able to attend school each year soon carried him to the 
limit of instruction provided in the common schools, but 
fell infinitely short of filling the measure of his desire for 
an education. How to continue the pursuit of knowledge 
became an absorbing question. The father was toiling 
early and late to provide the means of support for his large 
family. Domestic cares encompassed the mother's whole 
life. The slender income sufficed only to minister to the 
family's most urgent necessities. There was not much to 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 11 

hope for from the parents, much as they desired to aid 
John's laudable ambitions. 

In this perplexing situation his older brothers and sisters 
came to the rescue. In the neighboring village of Cincin- 
natus an academy flourished. Thitherward all the studious 
and intellectual boys and girls of the surrounding country 
turned their longing eyes, happy if only for a single term 
they might be permitted to wander in its " classic shades." 
Some of John's brothers and sisters were at work, earning 
small sums. Uniting their little savings, they made out a 
sum sufficient, with careful economy, to pay the expenses 
of the coveted term in the academy. A small room was 
rented and furnished, and provisions were supplied from 
home and carried to Cincinnatus in a little trunk, which 
the father still preserves. 

On each Monday morning he set forth, with his little 
trunk of provisions in his hand, and walked to the village 
of Cincinnatus, a distance of Hve miles. At the close of 
the week's school days, on Friday evening, he patiently 
trudged home again to renew his supply of provisions 
i and to spend the Sabbath with parents, brothers and 
sisters. 

At the end of a single term the small resources were 
exhausted, and it became necessary for the young man to 
seek by his own labor the means for further education. 
His hopes had been too long centred upon intellectual pur- 
suits to be surrendered now. He therefore determined to 



12 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" work his own way," devoting all he could save of his 
earnings to the expenses of his education. 

At the close of his first term in the Cincinnatus Academy , 
he made application to the trustees of a small country 
school in the town of German for the position of teacher. 
Here he taught the winter term of 1868-69. The salary 
was small, but it enabled him to return to the academy for 
the spring term of 1869. 

In the summer of 1869 he worked on a farm near his 
home. The labors of haying and harvesting were a very 
severe strain upon a constitution never vigorous, but with 
Spartan bravery and determination he performed his tasks. 
He never afterward attempted to work at farm labor except 
occasionally for a single day at a time. After harvest time 
was passed, he returned to Cincinnatus, to expend his earn- 
ings in gathering further stores of knowledge. 



CHAPTER II. 

YOUNG MANHOOD. 

The heights by great men reached and kept 

"Were not attained by sudden flight, 
But they, while their companions slept, 

Were toiling upward in the night. 

Longfellow. 

There is unspeakable pleasure attending the life of a voluntary student. 
— Goldsmith. 

FOR his first eighteen uneventful years John B. Finch 
lived, toiled, and studied in the country townships of 
Chenango and Cortland counties. Hampered by an im- 
paired constitution ; fettered by lack of means to pursue 
his studies ; hindered by frequent demands from home for 
the performance of various tasks ; retarded in intellectual 
development by the narrow range of study and the slow 
progress of classes in the common country schools, a less 
determined young man would have yielded to despair or 
settled stolidly into the drudgery of a life of manual labor. 
That he persistently battled against such odds, and won, 
illustrates his extraordinary force of character. At eighteen 
he had far outstripped his school comrades, though none of 
them had to contend with the obstacles he met at every 



14 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

step. His brothers and sisters looked upon him as an intel- 
lectual prodigy, and were willing to make any sacrifice in 
their power for his advancement. His father and mother 
watched his development with honest pride, and felt grieved 
and pained at their inability to help him toward the realiza- 
tion of his highest ambitions. 

He had been so often interrupted in his academic course 
by the necessity of working to pay his way, that he now 
determined to pursue his studies for some time to come 
during the leisure he could obtain while engaged in teach- 
ing. Not finding an opening in any of the public schools 
near his home, he concluded, in the summer of 1870, to 
teach a private school in the little village of East Pharsalia, 
six or seven miles distant. One of the first men he ap- 
proached concerning his plan was Samuel A. Coy, whose 
daughter he afterward married. This gentleman writes : 

" I was in front of my house. He introduced himself 
and stated his business in a business-like manner. I invited 
him into the house, but he excused himself by saying that 
he was anxious to complete the enumeration of the pupils 
he would be likely to get, as soon as possible. I asked 
where he had attended school, and the conversation ran on 
educational matters and the principles of good teaching. 

i c I saw, or thought 1 saw, in the brief conversation with 
him, that he was a youth of more than ordinary ability and 
talent, and as I became better acquainted with him I was 
confirmed in that opinion." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 15 

The necessary number of pupils for a good private school 
were obtained, a building rented, and the teaching promptly 
begun. After a few days' attendance, one of the more 
advanced pupils was asked : 

" How do you like your new teacher f 

"He understands his business," was the reply, "and 
attends to it strictly. In explanation he can't be beat. 
Whatever he knows he can explain so that everybody else 
can understand. ' ' 

In this school, as his pupil, he first met Retta L. Coy. 
As she was pretty, vivacious, and unusually intelligent, the 
handsome young school-master was greatly attracted to 
her, and when later in the year he taught a district school 
in the neighboring town of Preston, he paid her frequent 
visits, and their acquaintance ripened into a warm, mutual 
attachment. 

Eetta Coy was born February 17th, 1852. She early 
developed a great love of books and study, and before 
becoming a pupil in the select school had already been a 
teacher in the district schools for five terms, commencing 
when she was but fifteen. 

On the eighth day of January, 1871, the marriage took 
place. Both bride and groom were too earnest in their 
pursuit of knowledge and too ambitious to win in the life 
race to idle weeks away in their honeymoon, or to waste 
their hard-earned dollars in a costly " bridal trip." Per- 
haps a soberer or more sensible journey was never made by 



16 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

newly-wedded lovers. In Deposit, in the adjoining county 
of Broome, Laurel Bank Seminary was attracting the 
attention of advanced students. Thither Mr. and Mrs. 
Finch went as soon as his winter term of school was fin- 
ished, and devoted themselves arduously to their studies. 

Although attending but a single term at this institution, 
the time was so advantageously employed that on their 
return to Chenango County, they were both able to obtain 
situations as teachers in the high school at Smyrna. 

Mr. Simons, with whom they boarded when they com- 
menced teaching at Smyrna, recently remarked to a friend : 

" Mr. Finch was a perfect man while he lived with me. 
In all our business relations he did exactly as he promised. 
I believe he wanted to do just right by every one. 

" We often talked on temperance. He abhorred the use 
of intoxicants by any one with whom he came in contact. 
He said he had begun at the foot of the ladder and was 
going to the top round, and was going there on the tem- 
perance line, fighting the rum demon." 

At the close of the winter term at Smyrna, Mr. Finch 
and his wife removed to Norwich, in the same county. 
On the first day of April, 1872, he commenced the study 
of law in the office of Prindle, Knapp & Ray, of Norwich. 
During the summer he sold agricultural implements to help 
pay his expenses while pursuing his law studies. 

In the fall Mr. Finch returned to Smyrna, and finding no 
vacancy in the Union School in the village, applied for a situ a- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 17 

tion as teacher in the " old red school-house" one and one 
half miles south, and was eagerly accepted by the Board of 
Trustees. He taught the winter term of 1872-73, renting 
a dwelling near the school-house. In the spring he re- 
moved to a house on the " creek road," west of the village, 
and resided there while teaching the summer and fall terms 
in the Union School of Smyrna. 

During the fall term he enlisted the interest of the larger 
boys in the project of planting trees on the school grounds, 
and by their aid he dug in the woods over thirty thrifty 
young sugar maples and planted them with great care. 
These trees are still growing and vigorous, and constitute a 
fine adornment for the grounds, and a grateful shade in 
summer. So careful was the selection of young saplings, 
and so well was the work of setting performed, that not 
more than one or two failed to grow, or ever required re- 
placing. About the same time he helped the " boys" to 
gravel the walk from the school door to the street. J. P. 
Knowles says : 

" I think the job was well done, as it has been a good 
walk up to the present, and I do not know of any repairs." 

In the autumn of 1873 Mr. Finch and his wife both again 
obtained situations as teachers in the same school, this time 
in the Union graded school at New Woodstock, in Madison 
County, where they taught for about one year. 

At the close of the fall term in 1874 Mr. Finch spent 
some weeks making temperance addresses at country 



18 TEE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

school-houses and in the towns of Schuyler and Chemung 
counties. While thus engaged he wrote from Millport to 
his wife, who was still teaching at New Woodstock : 

" I speak on temperance in this village next Sunday 
evening. Pray for Johnnie that he may succeed." 

At Alpine, in December, he was suddenly prostrated. 
His wife and his brother came promptly to his bedside and 
attended him faithfully until he was able to be removed to 
the home of his father-in-law in East Pharsalia. 

By the time he recovered Retta was seized with a very 
severe attack of heart disease, and his returning strength 
was taxed to its utmost limit by the unceasing vigils at her 
side. About midnight of the 20th of February, as he bent 
over her, watching anxiously, she looked up in his face 
with a smile and whispered, " Lift me up, Johnnie." 
Tenderly the husband's arms enfolded the thin and worn 
form, and gently he raised her till her head lay on his 
shoulder, and he looked in her face to ask if she rested 
easily. But the question was unanswered. Even as he 
looked a shadow came sweeping over the fair, pallid face, 
the light faded from the loving eyes, and the seal of silence 
was set forever on the lips whose words were music to him 
who watched and wept. Retta was resting indeed. 
Around the cottage the winter winds moaned and sighed, 
but she was resting in the summer-land of perfect peace. 
Night and darkness covered the cold clay, but the freed 
spirit rested in the soft sunlight of eternal day. Sorrow 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 19 

and tears and breaking hearts in the old home, but Retta 
rested on the shadowless shore, in joy forever undarkened 
by gloom. 

To the young husband the blow was swift and terrible. 
He could not believe that the great change had come to her 
whom he loved so devotedly. In the days before the 
burial he again and again clasped her in his arms, raining 
kisses on the cold lips, and crying aloud in the agony of his 
passionate grief, " O Retta, Retta, come back to me !" 

In all his after years the memory of his young wife's last 
night on earth was inexpressibly painful. Sacredly shrined 
in his heart's holiest chambers the image of Retta ever 
remained. To a few of his nearest friends he sometimes 
mentioned her sadly and reverently. Only to her who 
shared with him the labors and triumphs of his later life 
did he reveal the depth of affectionate remembrance of his 
lost one, cherished in his loyal, loving heart. 

After Retta's death he remained some months at her 
father's house, resting and slowly recruiting his strength, 
until May, when his father and mother removed to Cort- 
land, and he again made their house his home, continuing 
the study of law with the firm of H. & L. Warren. 

The death of his wife was a blow from which it seemed 
impossible for Mr. Finch to recover. His temperament 
was so ardent, his likes and dislikes were so intense, that 
this first love of his boyish years had permeated his whole 
being. 



20 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

For months he brooded in silence over his loss. He 
cared for no companions, shunned society, and applied him- 
self closely and incessantly to study till he was compelled 
to desist, a severe attack of typhoid fever prostrating him 
for some weeks. 

After his recovery his old associations began to assert 
their influence, one of the first meetings he attended being 
a Teachers' Institute. The contact with the world roused 
him from the morbid condition into which he had been 
plunged by the loss of his wife. He was elected secretary. 
During the progress of the institute a discussion arose 
concerning some grammatical question, Mr. Finch taking 
one side and the professor in charge holding an opposite 
view. Numerous authorities were cited by Mr. Finch, 
and the prevailing evidence sustained him. 

Up to this time the regular annual Teachers' Institutes, 
provided for by State law, had been the only gatherings of 
teachers held in the county. At this session of the Insti- 
tute, Mr. Finch submitted a comprehensive plan for an 
association of all the teachers in the county, to hold meet- 
ings every quarter for the discussion of topics of interest 
concerning methods of teaching and school management. 
The topics were to be given out by the professor, written 
up carefully by the teacher he selected, and the paper read 
at the next meeting, after which there should be a general 
discussion of the whole subject. Mr. Finch was selected 
to prepare the first paper. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 21 

It seemed necessary that he should engage in some re- 
munerative employment during the winter, and he there- 
fore applied to the trustees to teach the district school at 
Texas Yalley, a few miles southeast of Cortland and not 
far from the school he first taught. 

In making the contract the trustees said to him : 

" Mr. Finch, we have some very hard boys in our dis- 
trict. Do you think you can manage them ?" 

" Oh, yes, I'll get along with them," was the easy, 
sanguine response. 

" But they have 'put out of doors' every teacher we 
have had in four years, and we have had some strong 
men." 

" They won't put me out," answered Mr. Finch, with 
determination gleaming in his eye. 

''Well, if you succeed in managing the boys this winter 
we shall be very glad." 

" If you will stand by me I will teach the school and 
govern it." 

1 ' All right, you can depend on the trustees to stand by 
you." 

Eo doubt they felt some misgiving as they thought of 
the sturdy, rugged, full-grown young men from the farms, 
who attended their school, and then looked at the tall, " 
slender, boyish-looking youth who, though twenty-three, 
appeared little more than sixteen. Nevertheless they said 
nothing, and accordingly school began early in November, 



22 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 

with Mr. Finch duly installed as teacher. More than a 
month passed quietly, the " big boys" making no outward 
demonstration, but ominously scowling at the unusual 
restraint. 

The day after Christmas the storm broke. In a letter 
dated December 27th, 1875, Mr. Finch tells the story : 

"lam happy this morning in thinking of the victory 
achieved in behalf of good order yesterday. The facts are 
these : I have eleven young men whose ages vary from 
seventeen to twenty-one years. They had said, long before 
I came here, that I could not teach the school. I have 
punished two of them before, and, prompted by revenge, the 
boys in question organized, and yesterday at recess in the 
forenoon the ' music ' commenced. It is against the rules 
* to fool ' in the school-room, and in answer to my request 
to keep still, a large boy said it was none of my business. 
You can imagine the rest — black eyes, bruised noses, and 
other marks on those boys are plenty, while I was unhurt. 
The trustee said to me this morning, ' You will have no 
more trouble in this school. Go ahead.' " 

The trustee's prediction, mentioned in the letter, proved 
true. For the remainder of the winter the school was 
quiet, and the former " unruly boys" were as obedient and 
respectful as could be desired. 

This term closed about the middle of February. Soon 
afterward a spelling contest was announced in the Normal 
School at Cortland. All persons who desired were per- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 23 

mitted to participate. The prize to be awarded was a com- 
plete set of school text-books. 

When the day of the struggle came Mr. Finch took part. 
The judges resorted to all the usual devices to puzzle the 
spellers, but he stood every test and triumphantly carried 
off the prize, much to the chagrin and mortification of 
some of the Normal pupils, who had confidently counted on 
victory for themselves. 

The winter term of 1875-76 in the Texas Valley district 
was the last school ever tanght by Mr. Finch. At intervals 
for seven years he had been engaged in teaching, and had 
won an enviable reputation as a successful instructor. He 
had invariably subdued the rebellious spirits who sought to 
disregard the master's authority, sometimes by physical 
force, but always by some means maintaining that ascend- 
ency which is the key to success. 

One of his old pupils says : 

" He was wonderfully patient and painstaking with 
his pupils, explaining over and over again all difficult 
problems, and never appearing satisfied until the dull- 
est was made to comprehend every part of the explana- 
tion." 

Another who was under his instruction writes : 

" There was never any petty meanness in his govern- 
ment, such as is common with some teachers. The younger 
and the older, the bright and the dull, the quiet and the 
noisy ones, were all treated with exact equality and justice. 



24 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

If he had any favorites there was no indication of it that 
even the most sensitive could have observed." 

Mrs. Anthony Volmer, who was under his instruction at 
the Union School at Smyrna, writes, January 6th, 1888 : 

"As a teacher he was a splendid success. He had a 
happy gift of imparting instruction, a rare talent for organ- 
izing, and a very unusual tact in governing. I never knew 
a teacher who had so keen an insight into the minds of his 
pupils, combined with a readiness of explanation that made 
every difficulty vanish quickly. He led by his strong per- 
sonal magnetism, combined with great patience." 

His gentleness was a marked characteristic of his school 
work. Though firm in his determination to secure obedi- 
ence to reasonable requirements, there was no tinge of 
asceticism in his disposition. His wonderful personal mag- 
netism was as conspicuous in the teacher as in the platform 
orator. His pupils loved him, and in almost all cases they 
endeavored to do what he asked of them more to please 
him than from any other impulse. Their attention to duty 
was well rewarded. He was always ready to entertain them 
after lessons were learned, with stories from history, with 
which his mind was amply stored, or with a vivid descrip- 
tion of some of the world's wonders. 

He was the life of the play-ground. In all the out-door 
sports he excelled. Not one of his "boys" could run 
faster, jump further, or give a more daring " lead " in the 
game of " goal." The sceptre of control was laid down, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 25 

and lie was a " boy" with the boys, without seeking or 
desiring to influence or command. Only when a wrong 
was being done to some of the smaller children did he, on 
the play-ground, assume the authority of master. Woe 
betide the big bully who attempted in his presence to ill- 
treat " the babies," as he always called them. He would 
protect little children, if necessary, with his life. 

Before and after school hours, morning and evening, he 
pursued a course of college studies, and for the latter three 
years read law. His progress was nearly as rapid while 
teaching as while attending the academy and the seminary. 
There was no time wasted. If he could not follow all 
scientists in their mysterious explorations, he determined 
at least to stand in the gateways of knowledge and catch a 
ray of light from their lamps or a gleam of perception 
from their watch-fires as they camped on the confines of 
the " unknown beyond." 

In every branch of learning he was an indefatigable 
student. He desired to know something, at least, even if 
he could not attain all that was to be learned concerning 
science, art, history and political economy. The mystery 
of human existence commanded his longest, most patient 
and persevering investigation. Concerning this he deter- 
mined to reach the utmost verge of human knowledge, 
and, if possible, to develop undiscovered truths. 

The days, months, and years devoted to study in such 
intervals as he could spare from other duties would not 



2G THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

have been sufficient to gather the vast amount of useful 
knowledge with which his mind was stored, had he not 
possessed a remarkably retentive memory and a quick, 
almost intuitive perception. With these endowments he was 
able to accomplish more with his limited opportunities and 
alone, than many others would have wrought with the con- 
stant aid of the best instructors in America's higher institu- 
tions of learning. 



CHAPTER III. 

BEGINNING TEMPERANCE W0KK. 

TN the year in whicli John B. Finch was born there came 
-■- into existence an organization whose influence was 
largely instrumental in turning his thoughts toward the 
temperance question, and whose systems of work made his 
development as a leader possible. 

It may be claimed for the Independent Order of Good 
Templars that it was the influence of that society which 
firmly and permanently fixed his attention upon the great 
problems, the settlement of which enlisted the best energies 
of his young manhood. 

A devoted Christian mother had early trained him to 
loathe vice, and so deeply had the love of personal purity 
been instilled in his mind that he was not liable to fall into 
drinking habits or to use tobacco. Reared in the country, 
where the temptations of the legalized dram-shop are less 
felt, he grew almost to manhood without near contact with 
its contaminating influences. 

Once, when a boy, in company with his mother, he visited 
a neighboring town. As they were passing a saloon a 
drunken man reeled from the door, staggering to the side- 



28 TRE LIFE OF J0I1N B. FINCH. 

walk just ahead of them. The mother saw the opportunity 
to emphasize her home teachings by the terrible illustration 
before them. 

" Promise mother again," she said, " that you will never 
touch the drink that makes men drunkards like that." 

" Mother, I will never drink a drop of liquor, and when 
I'm a man I'll shut up the places where they sell it." 

The mother warmly pressed the hand of her sanguine 
boy, little dreaming that in his manhood's years, in hun- 
dreds of towns and hamlets, and even in some whole States, 
his efforts would be an important factor in the work of 
" shutting up the places where they sell it." 

When only fifteen he was mainly instrumental in organ- 
izing a lodge of Good Templars in the town of Pitcher, 
where he lived. He was a faithful attendant and worker 
in this lodge as long as he remained in the vicinity. In 
the literary exercises and discussions at the lodge meetings 
he first began to understand his power as a debater. 

In the lodge at Smyrna, which both he and his wife 
joined January 2d, 1872, he was recognized as one of the 
most valuable members. The records show that he took a 
prominent part in every meeting, being appointed on vari- 
ous committees, leading the debates, participating in the 
business transactions, and reading selections. 

An old acquaintance who. knew him as a brother in this 
lodge says : 

" His readiness of debate made him willing to take the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 29 

unpopular side of a question, and the decision of the judges 
was almost invariably on his side." 

He debated in the affirmative on the question, "Hesolved, 
That a free government may restrain personal liberty." 
The judges decided in his favor. One who has heard him 
in later years discussing the same question before vast 
throngs of people cannot help wondering whether, even in 
those early years, he had not grasped comprehensive ideas 
of the true intent of righteous government. 

At another time we find him debating the question of 
woman suffrage, and winning the decision of the judges for 
the principle. 

One evening he gave the lodge a lecture on ' ' The Pro- 
nunciation of English Words." It was a very instructive 
lecture, and somewhat amusing, as it contained a few 
pointed " hits" at local bombast. 

One evening a large sleigh-load of lodge members rode 
over to Poolville to visit a neighboring lodge, Mr. and 
Mrs. Finch being among the number. 

James P. Knowles, who was one of the company, writes 
concerning this visit : 

" Several of us made brief speeches, but we all recog- 
nized his as the ablest. On the return I sat by Mr. Finch, 
and we discussed poetry and poets. It was one of the 
pleasantest visits I ever had with him." 

In September, 1873, several of the lodges in Chenango 
County united in the arrangement for a picnic in a grove 



30 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

at Lyon Brook Bridge, four miles south of Norwich, where 
the former New York and Oswego Midland Bailroad 
crosses a deep ravine. In this picturesque spot a large 
number of Templars gathered. There had been no pro- 
gramme arranged, but some of the more thoughtful mem- 
bers desired to improve the occasion by securing a speaker 
to give an address. After canvassing the assemblage it was 
discovered that no one was prepared. In this emergency, 
and in response to repeated requests, Mr. Finch came for- 
ward. Barely twenty-one years of age, and even more 
youthful in appearance, entirely without preparation, he 
commenced his first public temperance oration. Starting 
calmly and deliberately with a statement of the Good 
Templar platform of principles, he steadily advanced with 
his argument in vindication of these principles, sweeping 
away with his resistless eloquence the barriers of false logic 
reared by the enemies of the cause the Order represented, 
and closing with an impassioned appeal to all his hearers to 
work with ever-increasing zeal to save the fallen and to 
remove the drink temptations from their paths. 

It was a fraternal Templar band who listened, true- 
hearted men and women, boys and girls, who would have 
solaced even a failure with brotherly and sisterly com- 
passion. But they were not prepared for this marvel 
of success — a surprise no less to the speaker than to 
them. 

From this time forward the occasions when he was called 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 31 

upon for temperance addresses became more and more 
frequent. 

When Ids pupils in school asked him to select their 
declamations and recitations, he wrote suitable essays or 
orations on the temperance question for them to memorize. 

His attendance at his Good Templar lodge was regular 
and constant, and he always furnished some entertainment 
for the members — usually an extemporaneous address on 
some phase of the temperance question. He illustrated all 
his arguments by citations of evil effects in the community, 
with which every member must have been familiar. His 
investigation rapidly led him to understand that the respon- 
sibility for the evil results does not rest wholly with the 
proprietorof the drinking-places, and his denunciation of 
the citizen who would give his sanction to them was 
scathing. 

In May, 1876, soon after the closing of his last term of 
school, he was married to Miss Frances E. Manchester, at 
her home in McGrawville, N. Y. 

Professor R. T. Peck, of Cortland, a life-long acquaint- 
ance and friend of Miss Manchester, furnishes a brief 
sketch of her history and antecedents. 

" Miss Frances E. Manchester was born in the town of Solon, Cork- 
land County, N. Y., May 21st, 1852. Her great-grandfather, Captain 
Stephen N. Peck, was among the first settlers of the county, where the 
family has since resided, and his brothers were Elder Nathan Peck, a Bap- 
tist clergyman of Cortland for many years, and Elder John Peck, a Bap- 
tist missionary of wide repute in New York City. Darius Peck, a cousin, 



32 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

was late judge of Hudson City, N. Y. The family comes in direct line 
from Deacon William Peck, born in London, England, in 1601, who be- 
came one of the charter members of the New Haven Colony in 1638. 
Frances is the daughter of Whitcomb and Lucelia Manchester, residents 
of Cortland County for many years. Like many women of our land 
who have attained influence and prominence in literary circles, on the 
platform, and as leaders of charitable, missionary, and temperance work, 
she had little to depend upon in early life, in obtaining an education 
from books, save her own resources. The premature death of her 
mother laid almost insurmountable obstacles in her pathway, but with 
that energy characteristic of her life work, she obtained sufficient edu- 
cation at the home district school and by private study to become a 
teacher at the age of nineteen. For five terms thereafter she taught 
school in the vicinity of her home, took a course of study in the Cort- 
land State Normal School in 1875, and further prepared herself for the 
teacher's vocation at the McGrawville Academy. 

" During these latter years she formed the acquaintance of John B. 
Finch, to whom she was united in marriage May 31st, 1876. This event 
opened a new era before her, and presented a wide and varied field of 
labor seemingly suited to her ambition. From that time until the 
death of Mr. Finch, her work was inseparably connected with that of her 
husband. 

" Mrs. Finch joined the Good Templars soon after her marriage, and 
for three years following travelled with her husband, interested herself 
in temperance work, and acquainted herself with many of the best 
authors. In 1879 she was elected General Superintendent of Juvenile 
Temples of Nebraska, and during that year organized a number of 
Temples. 

" In 1880 she did some work in connection with the ' Woman's Suf- 
frage Reform,' began the study of elocution, and gave many select read- 
ings and valuable papers and poems before appreciative audiences 
throughout the country. Encouraged in these endeavors, and desirous 




C^^Z^<^Us 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 35 

of making her efforts of greater value to others, she, in 1883, entered the 
School of Oratory, North "Western University, at Evanston, 111., from 
which she was graduated in June, 1881. In 1886 Mrs. Finch extended 
the greeting of the world's Good Templars to the National Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union Convention at Minneapolis, and during 
the past two years she has been officially connected with the Good 
Templars of the district of which Chicago is the centre. 

" Mrs. Finch is a woman of broad views and unprejudiced opinions. 
She possesses that versatility and adaptability to society and circum- 
stances that well fit her for the great work of temperance reform. The 
death of her husband has placed upon her new and grave responsibil- 
ities, so that, in whatever field of labor she may be engaged, her many 
friends will follow her with their sympathies, and welcome her success 
in all her undertakings." 

About the beginning of the year 1876 Mr. Finch received 
a commission as Deputy Grand Worthy Chief Templar for 
the State of New York from II. E. Sutton, then the Chief 
Executive of the Grand Lodge of New York. On the 
evening of April 26th he organized a lodge at MeGraw- 
ville, in Cortland County. This began an active Good 
Templar campaign which resulted in the organization of 
twenty-nine lodges before the meeting of the Grand Lodge 
at Saratoga Springs in August of that year. Eight of these 
lodges were in Tioga County, seven in Chemung, ten in 
Tompkins, and four in Cortland. 

Such rapid and successful work was quite a surprise to 
old members of the Grand Lodge. There were many 
obstacles in the way, but he met and overcame them all. 
It had been usual to suspend aggressive work for the Order 



36 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FTNCH. 

during the heated term, but Mr. Finch pushed the cam- 
paign in midsummer with results commensurate to the 
energy he put into it. A difficulty with which he had to 
contend was found in the fact that lodges had existed and 
slowly died in every town visited. To those who had 
become lukewarm or disheartened by past failures he gave 
new inspiration and hope. To people who had never 
understood Good Templary he gave such thorough explana- 
tions of the methods and possibilities of work through this 
instrumentality that he everywhere created great enthusi- 
asm for the Order. County lodges, composed of delegates 
from all the subordinate lodges in each county, were 
organized where they had not already been in existence, 
and the old organizations were greatly strengthened. 

The Tioga County Lodge presented him a gold-headed 
cane, and Chemung County a tine silver tea-set suitably 
engraved. The Tompkins County Lodge presented him 
with a handsome Grand Lodge regalia. 

At the session of the New York Grand Lodge in 1876, 
Mr. Finch, accompanied by his wife, made his first appear- 
ance in that body as a representative of Cortland Lodge. 
He was selected to deliver the principal address at the 
Opera House public meeting on the first evening of the 
session. In the deliberations of the session he took a prom- 
inent part. Here he first became acquainted with the lead- 
ing temperance workers of the State. 

During the remainder of the year and the early part of 




JOHN B. FINCH AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-FOUR. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 39 

1877 lie was engaged in lecturing for the Good Templar 
lodges in Western and Central New York and in organizing 
new lodges. In this work he continued steadily successful, 
greatly encouraging and strengthening Good Templary in 
every section of the State he visited. 

The Right Worthy Grand Lodge, the chief governing 
body of the Good Templars for the world, held its twenty- 
third annual session at Portland, Me., in May, 1877. Mr. 
Finch had become so intensely interested in Good Templar 
work that he desired to be fully identified with every part 
of the system. 

" Puss," he said to his wife, calling her by the pet name 
he always used, " we must go to Portland." 

" How will you get the money to pay your expenses ?" 
she asked. 

" Oh, I'll make some lecture engagements going and 
coming, and will pay our way out of it," was the easy, 
confident reply. 

" I do not think we can afford it, even if you can do 
that," she replied. " I will remain here while you are 
gone." 

" But I want you to go," the husband persisted. 

" No, Bub, it is not best," Mrs. Finch said, as she 
crushed the pleasing thought of the enjoyment the session 
might bring her. 

" Well, Puss, I must go, even if I go alone. I shall 
probably make this temperance work my life business, and 



40 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

in order to succeed I must get acquainted with the workers 
and the work in all its branches." 

The question being settled, he at once planned to make 
the trip pay his expenses. An arrangement was made with 
one or two prominent newspapers to write for them daily- 
full reports of the proceedings of the Eight Worthy Grand 
Lodge sessions. Appointments to lecture were made for 
cities where the workers had before asked for his services. 
Some engagements were unexpectedly offered after the 
close of the session, enabling him to more than realize his 
expectations of " paying his way." 

An incident which occurred on the way to Portland 
illustrates Mr. Finch's ready and ever-active sympathy 
with suffering and misfortune. A lady, who was a repre- 
sentative to the Right Worthy Grand Lodge, lost her 
pocketbook containing railroad and steamer tickets and 
all her money. Discovering the circumstances, he gener- 
ously donated a large share of the money necessary to 
replace the amount lost, though his own funds were not 
sufficient to pay his fare home. 

The Right Worthy Grand Lodge elected him to be one 
of its official reporters, thus making. his letters for the press 
doubly valuable. 

At Portland Mr. Pinch learned most fully the details of 
the division in the ranks of the Order, which occurred the 
previous year at the session in Louisville, Ky., by which a 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 41 

great proportion of Templars of Great Britain separated 
themselves from the original society. 

He gave addresses at Saco and Biddeford, in Maine, and 
at other points on his way home. 

Mrs. America A. Brookbank, the present Eight Worthy 
Grand Superintendent of Juvenile Temples, mentions her 
first acquaintance with Mr. Finch in the Portland meeting, 
and her later association with him in Good Templar work : 

" He came to the Portland session of Right Worthy Grand Lodge a 
young man, full of vigor and intense earnestness in the work of the 
Order and the cause of humanity. As a member of the Literature Com- 
mittee of which he was afterward Chairman, and also having served on 
his Executive Committee, my regard for him as a Christian and as a 
philosopher has strengthened as the years have gone by. 

" He was a friend to the children, and the Juvenile Temple had his 
warmest sympathy and best counsels. His earnest words and constant 
devotion to this department of Good Templar work will live on, although 
his hands are folded to rest. No one can fill his place." 

Dr. Oronhyatekha, one of the most sagacious and trusted 
friends and advisers of Mr. Finch in his last years, gives 
some interesting reminiscences in the International Good 
Templar : 

" Brother Finch's first appearance in the Right Worthy Grand Lodge 
was in 1877, at Portland, Me., the first session held after the great split 
at Louisville. He came as a visitor from Rochester, N. Y. During the 
session he acted as a reporter for one of the daily papers published in 
the city. 

*' His reports were considered by some a little too full and detailed, 



42 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

and there was some talk of bringing him before the bar of the house. 
When he came to me for a brief sketch of myself, I said to him : 
* Brother Finch, you had better not say anything about me, for if you 
say anything favorable of me, you may be hauled up for it by the dom- 
inant party in the Right Worthy Grand Lodge ; and if you say anything 
bad about me, I'll have your scalp sure. ' It seems but yesterday, I re- 
member him so well standing before me with a scornful smile on his 
manly though youthful countenance, as he replied, ' I guess they won't 
try to muzzle the press.' The next session was held in Minneapolis, 
Minn., and he appeared as one of the representatives from Nebraska, 
and at once took a commanding position in the debates of the Right 
Worthy Grand Lodge. Then followed the sessions at Detroit and New 
York, at both of which Brother Finch served on the Finance Committee. 
He had already established himself as one of the leaders in the councils 
of the Supreme Body. During the session at New York, in 1881, he 
moved the appointment of the Literature Committee, which was carried, 
and the following were named as the first Literature Committee : John 
B. Finch, Nebraska ; James Black, Pennsylvania ; George B. Katzen- 
stein, California ; A. J. Chase, Maine ; John O'Donnell, New York ; 
Lillie J. Disbrow, Connecticut. 

He retained the chairmanship of this most important committee till 
he was elected Eight Worthy Grand Templar. The following year, at 
the Topeka, Kan., session he began to show his individuality, and we 
find this unprecedented record : * Moved by Representative Finch, of 
Nebraska, to proceed with an informal ballot for Right Worthy Grand 
Templar. Carried.' This unusual course led to the election of his 
friend, Brother T. D. Kanouse. The next session of the Right Worthy 
Grand Lodge was held in Charleston, S. C, and an examination of the 
records will show that no one in the body took a more active part in its 
deliberations. It is related that at this session Colonel Hickman suc- 
cessfully opposed one of Brother Finch's schemes, but though defeated 
he was not conquered. Taking advantage, at a later stage of the session, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 43 

of the temporary absence of the colonel, he succeeded in having the 
matter reconsidered, and then adopted by the Right "Worthy Grand 
Lodge, to the great chagrin of the colonel. The following year the 
Eight Worthy Grand Lodge session was held in the Palmer House, 
Chicago. It was at this session that Mr. Finch's friends first brought 
him forward as a candidate for the Templar's Chair, but he was defeated, 
though lacking only three votes of an election. The writer of these 
reminiscences was a candidate for Eight Worthy Grand Counsellor on 
the same ticket with Brother Finch, and was elected mainly through his 
personal exertions. Immediately after the election, Brother Finch came 
to me to offer his congratulations, and said, ' Now you must prepare 
yourself, for we will run you for the chair next year.' I replied, * Under 
no circumstances will I stand in your way. The Order needs you, and 
you must again consent to run next year.' The next session was held 
in Washington in 1884, and Brother Finch was elected Eight Worthy 
Grand Templar by a large majority. He was re-elected by acclamation 
at Toronto, Eichmond, and Saratoga, and we are sure could have held 
the chair against all comers for an indefinite time, for each year he be- 
came stronger in the affections of the members of the Eight Worthy 
Grand Lodge. It would seem that Providence raised up John B. Finch 
and gave him specially to the Good Templars, to effect the reunion of 
the Order. We feel satisfied that no other man could have kept in hand 
the apparently conflicting elements, and eventually have succeeded in 
harmonizing them in a united body. Now that we have been reunited, 
we feel sure that there are no forces existing in the Order that could 
again sever the bonds that unite us in the one world-wide international 
society. This grand work of itself would have proved an enduring 
monument to the memory of our noble and self-sacrificing chief- 
tain." 

At Minneapolis, Minn., the Right Worthy Grand Lodge 
held its twenty-fourth session in 1878. The Grand Lodge 



44 THE LIFE OF JOHN B, FINCH. 

of Nebraska had elected Mr. Finch as its representative at 
that session. Mrs. Finch accompanied him, and relates the 
interesting incidents of the journey. Visiting Fort Snelling 
and the Falls of Minnehaha, he recounted the history and 
the legends connected with them, vividly picturing the 
past, and adding greatly to the enjoyment of the coterie of 
Templars who surrounded him. 

He loved nature, and all that was beautiful in natural 
scenery quickly caught his attention. He desired to see 
and learn all that could be discovered in nature, art, or 
science, and it was an especial delight to him to visit the 
scenes with which he had become familiar in his early years 
by reading and study. 

In the Right Worthy Grand Lodge, of which he was now 
for the first time a member, entitled to all the rights and 
privileges of debate, he took an active part, never missing 
a minute of the morning, afternoon, and evening sessions, 
and never being late in arriving. This was a prominent 
characteristic of all his connection with Good Templar 
work. When the hour for opening a meeting arrived he 
w T as always present, and when the gavel fell at closing he 
was in his place. 

From 1877 till the time of his death he missed no session 
of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge nor of the Grand 
Lodge of his own State. His comprehensive grasp of the 
whole subject of temperance in all its relations to society, 
his quick perception of defects in any plan or system of 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 45 

work, Lis rapid recognition of the value or worthlessness 
of remedies proposed — all combined to make his mem- 
bership in Good Templar governing bodies a most desira- 
ble aid in perfecting their methods and achieving their 
aims. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

RED RIBBON WORK. 

Blessed is he who has found his work ; let him ask no other blessed- 
ness. He has a work, a life purpose ; he has found it and will follow it. 

— Cartyle. 

Thine to work as well as pray, 
Clearing thorny wrongs away ; 
Plucking up the weeds of sin, 

Letting heaven's warm sunshine in. 

WhiUier, 

TN the years 1876 and 1877 there was a widespread and 
-*- enthusiastic revival of some of the methods of work 
which had proved temporarily successful in the old Wash- 
ingtonian movement. Slight changes in plan, and possibly 
improvements, were made, but it was substantially the 
moral suasion effort of 1840 to 1847 repeated. 

In the hands of broad and liberal leaders the Red and the 
Blue Ribbon systems became valuable agencies for the pro- 
mulgation of temperance sentiment and the dissemination 
of correct ideas concerning the reform. But even where 
the broadest liberality pervaded the leadership, the inevi- 
table reaction which followed the periods of " Ribbon" 
excitements in the villages or cities where revival meetings 
were held, often affected disastrously the older organizations, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 47 

which had fought for years, patiently and almost single- 
handed, the moral battles of the community. Good Tem- 
plars, Sons of Temperance, and kindred societies, giving 
the whole power and strength of their membership to aid 
the new movement, sometimes found that when the enthu-* 
siasm of nightly public meetings had died away, it was 
more difficult than before to arouse the people to take up 
the plodding, self-denying routine work of the fraternal 
temperance bands. Indeed, many members of these soci- 
eties were borne along on the wave of revival excitement, 
like the drift on the inflowing tide, only to be stranded at 
its ebb upon the sandy shores of disappointment or despair. 
If this disastrous result was possible under wise and lib- 
eral leadership, it was almost certain under the management 
of narrow and illiberal men, who here and there took the 
chief places in the new movement. Men of this stamp 
were ignorant of the great principles underlying the tem- 
perance reform, and occasionally one of them imagined, or 
assumed that his method alone had the sanction and 
approval of Heaven, and that therefore it was his duty to 
malign and overturn every organization and system of work 
except his own. Such influences were more potent to 
destroy than to build up. The astonishing results of a few 
days or weeks of work in a city so wrought upon the people 
that many of them were ready to believe that all other 
methods of work were ill-judged and even sinful, if some 
Blue Ribbon apostle so declared. 



48 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Another danger in the new movement soon became 
apparent. In their eagerness to roll up huge lists of pledge- 
signers, a few workers had adopted a loose and easy pledge, 
which might mean abstinence from all alcoholic beverages 
or only from distilled liquors, according to the interpreta- 
tion put upon it by the easy consciences of half -converted 
topers. 

Most of the workers in the old temperance organizations 
felt that it was neither right nor wise to oppose a move- 
ment so vast in its possibilities for good, because a few of 
its teachers were misguided and bigoted. That there were 
Blue Ribbon leaders who entertained false views of what 
true total abstinence consisted, an editorial which appeared 
in the Western Brewer about this time clearly indicates. 

• ' Mr. Murphy says : ' The German can go to the beer garden and 
come home perfectly sober after drinking all day. He is really the most 
sensible drinker in America.' 

" Now then, Mr. Finch, you say the Murphy pledge ' allows the Ger- 
man, who believes his lager is not intoxicating, to indulge as much as 
he pleases.' Talk about a German who believes his lager is not intoxi- 
cating ! Don't he know it is not intoxicating? And does not Mr. 
Murphy know it also, and does he not say so, like an honest man ? 

" Mr. Finch is a good man in his way, but who made Mr. Finch the 
judge of lager, or of what constitutes true temperance ? Observe that 
all the other pledges are particular to forbid malt liquor by name. Mr. 
Murphy's pledge does not ; and he evidently means it shall not. Mr. 
Finch evidently does not like Mr. Murphy's pledge. So much the better 
for the pledge. There is an irrepressible conflict between the true tem- 
perance men who act • with malice toward none and charity for all,' and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 49 

the professional temperance men who act with charity for none and 
with malice toward all who oppose them. The partnership between 
them is dissolved. Welcome, Fbancis Murphy." 

It will be remembered that the pledge used by the early 
Blue Eibbon workers, and referred to in the Western 
JBreicer, read : 

" I, the undersigned, pledge my word and honor, God helping me, to 
abstain from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage, and that I will by all 
honorable means encourage others to abstain." 

This construction of the meaning of the pledge began to 
be generally accepted. No authoritative denial of its cor- 
rectness came from the Blue Eibbon leaders who used it. 
With such a feeling pervading the public mind, the ques- 
tion what attitude they should assume toward the movement 
became a serious one with men whose broad charity and 
fervent zeal in the cause was a spur to constant effort in its 
behalf. 

These conditions Mr. Finch fully appreciated as he looked 
over the field early in 1877. Weighing carefully yet 
rapidly the opposing arguments, he determined to under- 
take " Eed Eibbon" work, not along the lines with other 
workers already occupying the same field, but in harmony 
with the ideals fixed in his mind by the uncompromising 
teachings of Good Templary, the society he had loved so 
long and for the advancement of which he had recently so 
zealously labored. 



50 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH, 

Accustomed to the solemn and binding obligation of that 
Order, he adopted for " Red Ribbon" meetings 



" THE CHRISTIAN TEMPLAR* S PLEDGE. 



u I solemnly promise, God helping me, that I will 
never make, buy, sell, use, furnish, or cause to be fur- 
nished to others, as a beverage, any spirituous or malt 
liquors, wine, or cider. 

" I also promise to do all in my power, in all honorable 
ways, to discountenance the use of these beverages in the 
community." 

Timid people feared that a pledge so rigid in its exact- 
tions would be rejected by many who might otherwise be 
brought under temperance influence. But Mr. Finch 
scorned compromise. 

" I'll make that pledge win without the change of a 
letter,'' he said. "I may not get as many signers as I 
would if I used the weak pledge, but those I do get will 
be worth having. I won't use a pledge with loopholes in 
it. I would just as soon have a man drunk on whiskey as 
on cider or beer." 

The Good Templar lodges of Western New York, where 
the Hibbon excitement was at its height, determined to 
inaugurate a similar work in their several communities. 
Mr. Finch was selected as the representative and leader of 
the Order in this new line of work. For a month or more 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 51 

he was employed in the villages of Mnnroe County under 
the auspices of the Good Templars in the pledge work. 
He used the " Christian Templar's pledge" with uniform 
success. In the village of Bergen, with a total population 
of less than six hundred, at the first meeting one hundred 
and fifty signed the " iron-clad " pledge. In a single 
evening six hundred and twenty-five persons, or more than 
one third of the population of the village, signed this 
pledge in Brockport. 

The first severe test of the strong pledge was made in 
Batavia, N. Y., in April, 1877. The rapidly-growing 
reputation of Mr. Finch had gone before him. Added to 
this, the popular mind was full of the excitement that was 
then sweeping over the whole country. 

Mr. Finch laid the foundations of his work deep and 
sure. He began by a calm, logical presentation of the 
claims of total abstinence, its benefits and blessings to the 
individual, and through individual development, its profit 
to society. Every evening he advanced the arguments 
along the lines of his life training, until the hearer was con- 
fronted with the question : 

" If abstinence is best for the individual and for society, 
what right has the saloon to exist V ' 

No fear of failure in getting signers, no timorousness lest 
popular disapproval should greet him, deterred John B. 
Finch from his scathing denunciation of the institution 
which scattered rum-wrecks everywhere and made Bed 



52 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Ribbon revivals necessary in order to save a few of its half- 
destroyed victims. 

Notwithstanding this radical departure from established 
methods of moral suasion and pledge work, the interest and 
enthusiasm steadily increased. On the fourth night a larger 
audience gathered in the hall than the room had ever held 
before, and after that time no building would hold the 
multitudes who sought admission. 

The ninth evening the pledge roll mounted to two thou- 
sand signatures in a village of only four thousand population. 
It was the iron-clad pledge, "life-long in its duration." 

After sixteen nights in Batavia he commenced an enframe- 
ment of two weeks in Buffalo, IN". Y., which proved equally 
successful. 

Always giving utterance to the most radical declarations, 
even to conservative audiences, his reasoning was plain and 
his arguments so strong that the most prejudiced hearer 
was compelled to admit his premises and accept his con- 
clusions. 

"While employed in pledge-gathering work he remem- 
bered the old organizations that had " borne the burden 
and heat of the day." In every city and village he visited 
in his Red Ribbon work he directed the attention of the 
new converts to the existing temperance societies, and 
explained the benefits of membership in them. He invari- 
ably left these organizations stronger than he found them. 
He urged the society workers to gather up the results of the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 53 

revival meetings, and use all their efforts to make reformed 
men feel at home in the organizations. So strongly was 
this thought impressed upon the minds of both the old 
workers and the new pledge-signers, that permanent good 
results followed. 

As in the previous year, he devoted the summer months 
to the organization of Good Templar lodges. In each 
locality he visited he conducted " Ribbon" revivals for a 
few days, and then established a lodge to carry on the work 
after his departure. 

Daring the latter part of the year 1876 and most of 1877 
Mr. Finch was accompanied by his wife in his visits to the 
different parts of the State where he was called to lecture. 

One afternoon in September he entered the room where 
Mrs. Finch was seated, and, in his bright, breezy, and 
direct style of beginning a conversation, exclaimed : 

" Puss, let's go to Nebraska." 

Mrs. Finch could scarcely have been more astonished at 
a proposition to journey to Kamtchatka. Success was 
crowning his efforts in New York ; every obstacle was dis- 
appearing from his path ; from neighboring cities he was 
receiving an increasing number of applications for his time ; 
his reputation as a worker was daily extending ; loyal 
friends were rallying around him ; no brighter prospect of 
future usefulness could have been asked or expected. 

It was natural that Mrs. Finch should inquire what had 
led him to this change of plan. 



54 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 



a 



Oil, they need the right kind of Red Ribbon work in 
the West," was Mr. Finch's reply. 

"Have you had any calls to go out there?" his wife 
asked. 

"No." 

" Have you corresponded with anybody in that State ?" 

"No." 

" Do you know any of the people I" 

"No one intimately." 

" Has your work in New York ever been heard of in 
Nebraska ?" 

"Probably not." 
How will you get money to go ?" 

' Earn it on the way." 

* How do you expect to gain a foothold in that State ?" 
Oh, easily enough," he laughingly answered, and his 
eyes sparkled with the brave, sanguine spirit that no doubts 
could daunt or difficulties defeat. Then, growing more 
serious, he continued, " Puss, I can win anywhere, because 
I am doing work that must be done." 

Had Mrs. Finch opposed the project he would have hesi- 
tated and perhaps abandoned the plan, but as soon as her 
surprise was over she answered : 

" Very well, I am ready to go." 

Her firm belief that all truth is from God, and that He 
gives to those who lean upon and trust Him special guid- 
ance, leads her to act promptly and decisively, without 



u 



a 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 5o 

argument or delay. This was one of the occasions when 
the way seemed to open clear and plain, and all doubts dis- 
appeared as suddenly as they came. 

The decision was made. In the two or three weeks that 
followed Mr. Finch lectured in Niagara, Orleans, and 
Monroe counties in Western New York. By the third day 
of October he had saved a sufficient sum to purchase tickets 
to Nebraska for himself and his wife, and on that day they 
commenced the journey. 

Two days later they arrived in Nebraska City with just 
seven dollars as the total of their possessions. They at- 
tended a meeting of the Good Templar lodge on the even- 
ing of their arrival. At that meeting the acquaintance with 
some of the earnest Templar workers was made. On the 
following day the Good Templar leaders introduced him 
to all the clergymen of the city, to whom he unfolded his 
plans for a Red Ribbon revival. They cordially approved, 
and the next day, Sunday, October 7th, was fixed for the 
beginning of the work. 

Only two days elapsed after his arrival in the State, un- 
known and unheralded, before he had inaugurated, with 
the cordial co-operation of all the moral elements of the 
city, the most successful temperance revival ever conducted 
there. 

He attended the Methodist service on Sunday morning. 
At four in the afternoon and at eight in the evening all the 
churches united in a meeting at the Cumberland Presby- 



56 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

terian Church. In his first address Mr. Finch boldly de- 
clared his position. He denounced the liquor traffic as an 
unmixed evil, harmful alike to the individual drinker and 
to society as a whole. The license system could in nowise 
mitigate the evil or save society from its ravages. License 
was only a bargain with an enemy, a compromise with a 
public crime. Compromise was always a victory for wrong. 
Truth, righteousness, and justice always surrendered some 
principle when they consented to a compromise. 

The courage of these radical declarations can better be 
understood after an observation of the conditions of public 
sentiment and business relations then existing in Nebraska 
City. 

One of the largest distilleries in the State was in active 
operation, and was pointed out with pride by many of the 
business men as a commercial enterprise of vast importance 
to the development of the city. An extensive brewery, 
which manufactured vast quantities of beer for shipment to 
all parts of the State, was almost equally an object of pride 
to the same class of men. Saloons of every grade, from 
the lowest criminal " dive" to the gilded palace of sin that 
pandered to fashionable passion and aristocratic vice, flour- 
ished in every part of the city. Although these evil insti- 
tutions did not have the sanction or approval of the moral 
elements of the community, the grip of their political and 
social power was felt by all the people. Business men 
especially were careful to avoid any expressions of disfavor 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 57 

to the traffic, lest they might be assailed and ruined by the 
relentless persecutions of the malignant and merciless rum 
power. The terrorism which silenced the people extended 
to the churches, and in some pulpits closed the lips of the 
pastors. 

Yery little aggressive temperance work had been done 
before Mr. Finch's advent, most of the speakers who had 
previously visited the city having belonged to the milder, 
moral suasion type of workers. 

Outside of the Good Templar Lodge, which was by no 
means a strong body at that time, it is doubtful if ten men 
in the whole city would have admitted that the principle 
of prohibition for the whole drunkard-making business was 
correct in theory or possible in application. 

On the morning following the first lecture the Daily 
Nebraska Press said : 

" After prayer by Kev. W. A. Hanna, the Hon. John B. Finch was in- 
troduced. Five minutes after he commenced speaking the conviction 
was fastened upon every hearer that he was listening to one who was 
thoroughly in earnest, and that boldness in speaking the truth was with 
him a settled principle. This earnest boldness on the part of the speaker 
is surely refreshing. He said the discourse was for Christian hearers, 
who composed the principal part of his audience, and it was so pointed 
that scarcely a person in the entire congregation felt there was much 
chance to escape the terrible woe pronounced in the lesson read." 

The Sunday evening topic was " The Misunderstanding 
of the Nature and Effect of Alcohol." The Daily News 



58 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

reporter caught and preserved some strong sentences from 
this address : 

" To claim that stimulants are necessary for man's existence is to 
claim that, at the creation, God did not know the wants of the creatures 
He made." 

" The greater part of man's ills have come from disobedience to Divine 
law, and the substitution of stimulants in the place of drinks prepared 
by the Almighty has caused more crime, sin, and misery than any other 
violation of law.' ' 

On Monday evening the address was on ''Moderate 
Drinking. ' ' He commenced with the startling announce- 
ment : 

" There are no moderate drinkers. The term receives a different 
definition from each exponent— one claiming that it means one glass, 
another two, another three, each man claiming that the number of 
glasses he drinks is moderate." 

" All liquor drinking is drunkenness in various degrees. Any man who 
drinks intoxicating liquors as a beverage is in some degree a drunkard." 

"The sophistries, ' What I drink will do me no hurt,' and ' I have 
brains enough to drink or let it alone, ' are the devil's decoy ducks, 
which have led many a noble youth into paths of disgrace." 

" No man believes he is a drunkard until he attempts to reform." 

* ' The moderate drunkard is a more dangerous man in the commu- 
nity than the common drunkard." 

On the third evening the church was filled. The local 
newspapers expressed their surprise that a temperance 
speaker had succeeded in attracting so large an attendance. 
For the first time public attention was arrested. Mr. Finch 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 59 

canvassed the subject of " Drunkards, How Made and 
How Reformed." 

It had been decided to continue the meetings for one 
week. The interest and attendance nightly increased. No 
room could be secured that would accommodate the people. 
Before the end of the week it was determined to hold the 
meetings through the second week. The pledge roll grew 
larger every day. "When the series of meetings closed it 
was found that more than sixteen hundred names had been 
enrolled. 

Soon after his arrival in Nebraska City Mr. Finch wrote 
a letter to an Eastern paper, for which he was a regular 
correspondent, describing the social conditions and giving 
some plain statements which might have severely wounded 
the local pride of sensitive people. A copy of the paper 
containing this letter having fallen into the hands of certain 
saloon-keepers, they made a persistent effort to embitter the 
people against the writer of it, and by thus arousing popu- 
lar resentment, to break up the meetings and destroy the 
influence of the speaker. But these devices of the enemy 
signally failed. The work went on uninterruptedly, and 
when the last meeting of the series was ended the cause of 
temperance was more honored and the saloon more despised 
than ever before in the history of the city. 

Lincoln next claimed Mr. Finch's attention. Before the 
close of his first week in Nebraska City very urgent invita- 
tions had been received from Lincoln temperance men, ask- 



60 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

ing him to visit their city immediately. He had named 
October 14:th as the date on which he could commence a series 
of meetings for them, but the earnest desire of the people 
of Nebraska City that he should remain with them longer 
induced him to postpone his visit for one week. 

On Saturday, October 20th, accompanied by Mrs. Finch, 
he arrived in Lincoln, and was tendered a splendid recep- 
tion at the Commercial Hotel. 

While the State capital was at this time cursed by twenty- 
seven saloons, whose power was felt in the community, 
there had always been a few dauntless spirits in the temper- 
ance ranks who bore the banners of the cause valiantly. 

The day following Mr. Finch's arrival in Lincoln was 
Sunday, and had been fixed for the opening meeting. He 
attended the Methodist service in the morning, the Young 
Men's Christian Association meeting in the afternoon, and 
in the evening opened the series of meetings in the Opera 
House. 

Hon. H. W. Hardy, ex-Mayor, in a letter briefly review- 
ing this and later work, thus forcibly expresses his first and 
later impressions concerning Mr. Finch and his Red Ribbon 
and other temperance work : 

" I first met John B. Finch October 21st, 1877. I was first impressed 
•with his youthful appearance, so fresh, so fair. My second thought 
was, ' He bears no scars of drunken debauch, no signs of wild oats sown.' 
That was a relief. So many of our temperance workers bear the Cain 
marks, which reformation cannot wholly efface. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 61 

" He gave his first lecture that evening. Before he had half finished 
my vote was unanimous that he filled the bill. From that time on he 
always stood first in the temperance heart of Lincoln. He took up his 
home here, and no wonder that we loved him most, because we knew 
him best. The dirty tongue of slander wagged against him, but it had 
no effect here, unless it was to strengthen the love we bore him. When 
he died the whole city was in mourning. Oh, that he could have lived, 
as did Wendell Phillips, to see his labor crowned with success— the in- 
toxicating bowl and the slave chain both buried in the same half 
century !' * 

Edward B. Fairfield, then Chancellor of the University 
of Nebraska, became acquainted with Mr. Finch during 
these meetings, and has written concerning him : 

" I knew Mr. Finch well, and was glad to know him as my friend. 
And no one could know him and not esteem him very highly. His abil- 
ities on the platform were matchless. His speeches, I think, were 
always extempore, and yet his sentences might have fallen into stereo- 
type plates, with no need of reconstruction. They were very effective, 
blending strong argument, high moral tone, keen wit, aDd irresistible 
humor. His self-command was superb, while his self-consciousness 
was scarcely perceptible, and never obtruded itself in any offensive way. 
In his death the temperance cause has lost its most effective advocate, 
and Prohibition its ablest champion." 

The first series of meetings in Lincoln continued every 
night for three weeks with unabated interest. On the 
week-day evenings meetings were held in the largest of the 
churches, and on Sabbath the people gathered at the 
Opera House. It mattered not what place was selected, 
no audience-room in the city could furnish even standing 
room for all those who sought admission. 



62 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

As in his previous work, he taught the most radical doc- 
trines, and while pleading with the drinker and the drunk- 
ard he never forgot to hurl the anathemas of just indignation 
and wrath against the licensed pitfalls society permitted to 
be placed in their pathway, making reform ten times more 
difficult, if not entirely impossible. Some of the lectures 
of this course were so highly appreciated that a universal 
demand for their repetition was made. His address " To 
Girls," given in the Opera House Saturday evening, 
November 3d, was one of these ; on the following evening 
it was repeated in the same place to a vast concourse of 
people. 

November 11th the closing meeting in the Opera House 
was held. The Lincoln Journal, in its report of it, said : 

" The Opera House was crowded as never before. Every seat on the 
lower floor and in the galleries was taken, and all the chairs from the 
stage were brought out. Over two hundred, unable to find seats, stood 
up, and many, unable to gain admission at all, went away. Mr. Finch 
took the platform and made the most eloquent, impassioned, and argu- 
mentative discourse that he has yet given. His remarks were mainly 
upon the so-called right of the saloon-keepers to sell that which destroys 
the reason of men." 

On Monday evening the Methodist church was filled with 
the reformed men and old temperance workers, who had 
become very much attached to Mr. Finch during his stay 
in the city. Tearful " Good-bys" were said and blessings 
devout and heartfelt were showered upon him. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 03 

The results of the three weeks of work had far exceeded 
the expectations of the most sanguine friends of the cause. 
Over twenty-one hundred persons, or more than an average 
of one hundred each evening, had signed the pledge. A 
large number of drinking men were permanently reformed. 
Ten years later, many of these reformed men could be found 
in Lincoln, sober, honorable, and prosperous citizens, re- 
spected by even the men who remember their earlier dis- 
sipation. 

A Red Ribbon Club was organized on the most substan- 
tial basis. Under the skilful management of George B. 
Skinner, w T ho has been for more than ten years its presi- 
dent, the interest has been steadily maintained, and regular 
weekly meetings have been held almost without interrup- 
tion. The Lincoln Red Ribbon Club still flourishes, per- 
haps the oldest and most successful club in the United 
States. 

In establishing the Red Ribbon Club Mr. Finch did not 
forget the Good Templar Lodge and kindred societies. 
Large accessions to their membership were obtained through 
his influence. 

A children's temperance society was organized, and dur- 
ing the progress of the revival a daily morning prayer- 
meeting was held. 

From Lincoln Mr. Finch carried the campaign to Seward, 
where results were more speedy and marvellous than at 
any point in the State previously visited. On the fourth 



64 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

day of the revival the gratifying announcement was made 
that two saloon-keepers had closed their doors and gone out 
of the business. In the single week in which meetings 
were held over one thousand signed the pledge. The 
village contained but twelve hundred inhabitants, and 
therefore some of these pledge-signers were gathered from 
the surrounding country, where the enthusiasm of the work 
had reached. Farmers from ten, fifteen, and twenty miles 
away came to Seward every evening, and after the close of 
the service, which often lasted until eleven o'clock, drove 
to their homes. 

During the remainder of the year 1877 and all of 1878 
lie continued the revival work in Nebraska, except for the 
months of June and July of the latter year, when he trav- 
elled in Wisconsin under the auspices of the Grand Lodge 
of Good Templars. 

Throughout Nebraska, in the larger cities, in the smaller 
villages, and in the country hamlets, the work was uni- 
formly successful, hundreds of the hardest drinkers signing 
the pledge and uniting with temperance organizations. 

In this work he never followed the beaten tracks and 
regulation grooves. He never adopted a plan simply 
because that plan had some time been prospered elsewhere, 
or because it had been generally accepted as best. He 
gathered the fruits of his campaigns into Good Templar 
lodges, Red Ribbon clubs, Temples of Honor, or kindred 
societies, either of which he organized, as seemed best 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 65 

adapted to meet the special requirements of the commu- 
nities in which he worked. 

In all the larger towns he remained about ten days or two 
weeks, and in the smaller villages from five to seven days. 

An incident at York illustrates the absorbing interest 
which these meetings aroused everywhere. 

The City Hall was in the second story of a large frame 
building. The architect and builder had not provided 
sufficient strength of timber to support without deflection 
the great weight of the throngs of people who gathered 
nightly. The dangerous condition of the building was 
freely discussed by the citizens on the streets and in their 
homes. But even the fears for personal safety did not 
deter the same throngs of listeners from assembling each 
evening. 

At another town, in his meeting one evening the plaster- 
ing on the side walls parted, indicating that the floor had 
settled several inches. The wild impulse to rush from the 
building seized the audience. Before they half realized 
their danger, and while most of them were yet sitting, Mr. 
Finch comprehended the situation, and raising his voice, 
called out : 

" Don't move, as you value your lives. Sit perfectly 
still. Let those nearest the door leave the room first. Go 
one by one and step lightly." 

The order was obeyed implicitly and a serious catastrophe 
averted. 



66 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

At North Platte, then on the far frontier, some disturb- 
ance was feared. It was a resort for "cowboys." The 
vast grazing regions on every side of the town were wholly 
unsettled except by the " ranchers" who owned or attended 
the large herds of cattle. North Platte was the supply 
depot for all the ranches within a radius of a hundred miles 
to the north, west, and south. On the occasions when they 
visited the town for the purchase of supplies or to load 
cattle for transportation to market, it was the nearly uni- 
versal custom of the cowboys to indulge in a prolonged 
debauch. In these cases it was not uncommon for a band 
of these drunken horsemen of the plains to ride through 
the streets spurring their ponies to a furious run, and firing 
their revolvers at every living being in sight, out of doors 
or within. If there were no men, women, or children to 
be seen, the dogs, pigs, and chickens became the targets 
for their shots. Sometimes they rode on horseback into the 
saloons, and after driving the bar-tenders out, proceeded to 
coolly shoot the necks off all the decanters on the shelves. 
Nobody dared dispute the cowboys' dominion. Saloons 
outnumbered all legitimate business enterprises combined 
more than three to one. Next after the cowboy the rum- 
shop reigned supreme. Between these two controlling 
forces there was little comfort for the Christian citizen, and 
less hope for the radical temperance reformer. 

Contrary to all expectation, Mr. Pinch's meetings at 
North Platte were not only undisturbed, but were marked 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 67 

by a degree of wild enthusiasm unequalled elsewhere. The 
houses were filled, and hundreds gathered around the win- 
dows, standing on boxes, barrels, and quickly constructed 
platforms, waving their hats and shouting their applause. 
Cowboys from far and near came nightly to listen, and 
hundreds of them left their names inscribed on the pledge 
roll. 

From the date of this revival the moral status of North 
Platte has steadily improved. Though still cursed by 
saloon dictation in its political affairs, the old regime of 
rioting and disturbance has been succeeded by the reign of 
Jaw and order. 

In Omaha he commenced a series of meetings September 
12th, and closed November 10th, 1878, making fifty-eight 
consecutive speeches. All the following week was devoted 
to the organization of Red Ribbon clubs and Good Tem- 
plar lodges in various parts of the city, and on the next 
Sunday, November 17th, he delivered two addresses, mak- 
ing sixty in the series. The Omaha Republican reports 
one of the earlier meetings of this series : 

" Last night the fifth regular temperance meeting was held in the 
Baptist church. The large audience-room was full. Seats were at a 
premium, many standing during the entire evening. Mr. Finch was in 
his happiest mood and delivered a telling address, which was again and 
again interrupted with applause. His explanation of the reasons for 
wearing the Red Ribbon was forcible and to the point. He said and 
proved by apt illustrations that every honest temperance man should 
wear it. First, because the saloon-keeper opposed the wearing of it. 



68 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Second, to stimulate his own zeal, and to be counted on the right side. 
Third, to assist the weak and trembling victim of the cup. He pre- 
dicted that the saloon-keepers would soon put it on in ridicule, wear it 
for a time, and then, as the movement progressed, take it off and try to 
compel or drive others to take it off. A majority of so-called or self- 
styled temperance men who excuse themselves from wearing the ribbon, 
simply lack moral courage to wear it. The object of this movement in 
Omaha is to save men and prevent \oung men from falling. The way 
to save drunkards is by individual effort. This effort must be put forth 
by every true man and woman. This work is not Finch's work, it is the 
people's work, and he is here to assist them, not to have them assist 
him. The moral people of Omaha are responsible for the moral condi- 
tion of the city. If every church and Christian in the city had always 
done their duty there would be no need for an extra temperance move- 
ment. The only question to be settled is simply, ' Is there a necessity 
for a temperance reformation in Omaha ? ' Every man and woman who 
says * Yes ' to the proposition should don the ribbon and go to work. 
The thing to learn at the outset is that the drunkard is a brother, and 
go with the spirit of love for him and pity for his condition, rather than 
recrimination for his errors and sins. These thoughts were illustrated in 
the way that Finch can alone illustrate, and the effect upon the audience 
was shown by the large number who went forward and enrolled them- 
selves among the temperance ranks at the close of the meeting. 

" The meeting will be held to-night at the same place, and it will be 
necessary for you to get there by eight o'clock if you want a seat. You 
can't afford to stay away." 

Nowhere was the hostility of the saloons more pro- 
nounced and bitter than in Omaha. The dram-shop had 
too long dominated that city to relax its grip at the behest 
of a Red Ribbon " fanatic." 

From early in the '50's Omaha had been the terminal 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 61) 

point of Western settlement, and the initial point of Western 
adventure. When the " gold fever" hired thousands of 
men to the trial of the unknown dangers of the lonely 
plains and frowning mountain- passes, in their search for 
sudden wealth, Omaha became one of the points of depar- 
ture for the long and tedious journeys. Beyond, there were 
neither towns nor settlements. Long trains of white-cov- 
ered wagons daily wound their way over the Omaha bluffs 
toward the " trail " upon the level prairies that stretched 
away to the westward for hundreds of miles, bare, monot- 
onous and uninviting. 

In those days Omaha was a pandemonium of evil spirits. 
The saloon bore regal sway. No one dared attempt its 
uncrowning, or to break the sceptre of its sovereignty. 

While it is true that many good men made the perilous 
journey of the plains, a vast number of men from the worst 
element of human society followed the trail leading toward 
the land of gold. For these, Omaha furnished the last 
opportunity for the gratification of their lusts and passions 
for many weeks. Gambling, prostitution and drunken- 
ness held high carnival day and night. 

Before the visit of Mr. Finch great changes had been 
wrought. The country beyond had been settled by sober 
and industrious farmers. Legitimate trade had increased, 
and as the railroads reached further and further westward, 
much of the vicious and criminal floating population was 
borne beyond the boundaries of the " river city." 



70 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

But while population and pursuits had rapidly changed 
and improved, the terrorism of the hundred and fifty rum- 
shops still remained. As night after night, under the 
magical power of Finch's eloquence, the crowds of old- 
time drinkers came forward and signed that strong pledge 
of life-long abstinence, the rage of the saloon-keepers knew, 
no bounds. Open threats of violence were bandied on the 
streets. The very air seemed loaded with the menace of 
murder and assassination. 

The few brave, loyal, and determined temperance workers 
armed themselves heavily and sent a detail of several armed 
men to accompany Mr. Finch wherever he went. At the 
urgent solicitation of friends, he purchased revolvers for 
both himself and wife, which they habitually carried. 

Threatening letters came through the mail, others were 
delivered by messenger boys, and at different times, upon 
rising in the morning, they found murder-hinting missives 
which during the night had been placed under the door of 
their sleeping-room, which was on the second floor of a 
quiet boarding-house. These letters were evidently written 
with the hope that they would intimidate Mr. Finch and 
his friends, and prevent any further encroachments upon 
the domain of the drunkard-makers. Many of the missives 
were written in blood, with the emblems of murder and 
death conspicuously displayed. On one sheet found under 
the door, a skull and cross-bones, with a coffin had been 
sketched, below which was written in red characters : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 71 

"JOHN JB. FINCH, 

if you don't leave town in three days 

THIS WILL BE YOUR FATE." 

Ruffianly men dogged his footsteps whenever he appeared 
on the streets, day or evening. 

Through all the storm of rage his work aroused in the 
drinking-places Mr. Finch remained undaunted. Addison 
says, through one of the characters in " Cato :" 

"The Soul, secured in her existence, smiles 
At the drawn dagger and defies its point." 

And Mr. Finch, conscious of the righteousness of his 
cause, looked to God for protection and went boldly for- 
ward. 

The year 1878 was one of unremitting labor for Mr. 
Finch. Over forty weeks of Red Ribbon revival work in 
Nebraska, with scarcely a single evening for rest ; nine 
weeks of Good Templar "tent meetings" in Wisconsin, 
in many instances conducting three services daily ; visits to 
the sessions of Nebraska Grand Lodge in January, the 
Right Worthy Grand Lodge, the head of the Order 
throughout the world, in Minneapolis in May, and the 
New York Grand Lodge at Uticain August ; active partic- 
ipation in the deliberations and discussions of the morning, 
afternoon, and evening sittings of these bodies, from which 
he could hardly refrain ; occasional single speeches made 



72 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

by special request in the cities of other States — these mani- 
fold labors were crowded into the narrow limits of a single 
year. In 1877, 1878, and 1879 he averaged more than one 
speech per day for the three years. 

As might have been expected, the constant tension of 
mind and body in these ceaseless efforts sometimes proved 
too much for human endurance. At one time he fell 
exhausted and fainting at the close of his speech. At an- 
other time he was ill for nearly three weeks, scarcely leav- 
ing his bed during the day, and yet during this whole time, 
in spite of the protestations of wife and friends, he gave 
an address full of life and fire each evening. Few persons 
can realize the amount of will power and nervous energy 
required to perform such tasks. His indomitable zeal and 
intense interest in the salvation of men from the drink 
curse sustained him in these almost superhuman efforts. 

One spring day he accompanied some friends on a horse- 
back hunting excursion. The wild pony which he had ven- 
tured to ride became frightened at the discharge of a gun 
and threw him, inflicting quite severe injury. Lame and 
sore from the fall, he stepped upon the platform at the hour 
for his evening meeting, and addressed the people as usual. 

The magnitude of influence for good in any moral effort 
may be estimated from the degree of hostility it arouses 
among the vicious and immoral classes. If the Christian 
soldier batters down the enemy's walls of defence ; if he 
tears from before the hosts of sin their bulwarks of deceit ; 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 73 

if he drives them from their positions, he will hear their 
curses growing louder and deeper as their defeat grows 
more certain. 

Measured by these standards, Mr. Finch achieved marvels 
of success for truth and humanity. In a few cases saloon- 
keepers were converted in his meetings. Excepting these 
men, the entire liquor interest throughout the State cursed, 
maligned, persecuted, and hated John B. Finch. No 
malediction was too awful, no denunciation too bitter for 
their malignant tongues to utter against him. Threats of 
personal violence and injury were freely indulged by the 
degraded devotees of rum, and their interested instigators. 
The vilest calumnies were hatched in the saloons and ped- 
dled on the streets by conscienceless slanderers. 

As the venom of the murder-mills increased, one of the 
beautiful compensations of God's providence gave him 
requital for his devotion to his work and for the bitter 
hostility he had aroused. A cordon of loyal, loving friends 
drew closer and closer round him, ready to shield him from 
harm. Faster than foes multiplied, the warm, true-hearted 
legions of friends increased. For every whisper of detrac- 
tion from his enemies, they breathed upon him a benedic- 
tion. Into every wound the poisoned dagger points of 
malice made, they poured the balnf of an unwavering trust 
and confidence. If violence or crime raised its guilty hand 
to strike the leader, a friendly host stood ready to avert the 
blow. Seeing these ever-vigilant defenders gather, the 



74 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 

would-be assaulters and assassins restrained their murderous 
impulses, and confined their attacks to defamation and 
detraction of Mr. Finch, and to such abuse and injury of 
his friends and co-workers as they dared, openly or secretly, 
to inflict. 

In one village the barns and an elevator belonging to a 
gentleman who had been prominent in the local Red Ribbon 
work, were fired by a drunken incendiary instigated by the 
saloons. 

At the meeting the next evening Mr. Finch said : 

" Fellow-citizens, we must go on with this work. We 
cannot sacrifice principle for a few barns and elevators. ' ' 

In other towns free drinks were furnished to all the 
drunken loafers who could be influenced to go to the meet- 
ings and create disturbances. 

In one of the larger towns, where the rum -shop had ruled 
almost unrestrained, a hooting mob gathered about the 
church, hurling stones through the windows, battering the 
doors with heavy timbers, and greatly terrifying the people. 
The attack was made by the German saloon-keepers and 
their German allies, whose ideas of " personal liberty" em- 
braced the notion that they had the right to sell and drink 
all the beer they pleased, and mob or murder any man who 
sought to limit such privileges. 

A large number of Irishmen, many of them poor laborers, 
had been converted in these meetings, and were present on 
the night of the attack. They arose in a body at the first 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 75 

warning. One brawny Hercules called out, as he made for 
the door : 

" Go roight an, Mester Fench, the b'ys will tind to the 
Dutch." 

Another zealous convert shouted : 

" If yez will say the wahrd, we'll clane out ivery rum- 
hole in the town." 

With such a sturdy band of defenders the mob had not 
courage to contend, and scattered in every direction, no 
doubt filled with the idea of Goldsmith, that 

" He who fights and runs away 
May live to fight another day." 

After this no further disturbance was attempted, though 
the beer barons scowled their sullen hatred and muttered 
curses, " not loud, but deep." 

In sunshine and in storm ; in the face of foes most piti- 
less ; against opposition unscrupulous and determined ; in 
fields of labor that first seemed utterly hopeless ; every- 
where and at all times that duty called, Mr. Finch calmly 
and imperturbably responded to the call, ready to do all 
that human heart and hand and brain could do, leaving the 
results with God. 

Rev. J. W. Hamilton, of Boston, says : 

" John B. Finch was distinguished by his cause, but his * honor was 
not won until some honorable deed was done.' And his deeds now 
honor him, but he will ' shine in more substantial honors,' as time re- 
veals the measure of influence he continues to exert. He was a young 



76 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

man, but lie had little of that ' fever of reason ' which we call youth. 
He spoke the language of men. It was his manly strength and manly 
art which led men to love him and men to hate him. 

* ' These three things distinguished him, as I understood him. He 
was devoted to his work, skilful and honorable about it, and happy in 
it. His devotion to the temperance reform was evident to my mind 
from the changes it wrought in his mind. He submitted to follow his 
conscience, no matter where it led him. His skill displayed itself in his 
statesmanship. Honorable methods were natural to him ; temptations 
which threatened him only exalted him. The delight which he took in 
his work possibly showed that he was a young man. * Every street,' says 
Bulwer-Lytton, ' has two sides : the shady side and the sunny. When 
two men shake hands and part, mark which of the two takes the sunny 
side ; he will be the younger man of the two. ' Mr. Finch walked in the 
sun." 

While the press was nowhere very heartily sympathetic 
with his work, the daily newspaper reports of its progress 
show some of its interesting features. 

The Falls City Globe mid Journal comments on the con- 
version of a saloon-keeper : 

" Wes. Kalston, proprietor of the Senate Saloon up to the hour of its 
death, donned the Red Ribbon on Thursday, and signed the pledge of 
the Red Ribbon Club, which reads as follows : ' I, the undersigned, for 
my own good, and for the good of others, promise, God helping me, 
never to use, sell, or cause to be furnished to others as a beverage, any 
spirituous or malt liquors, wine, or cider.' 

' ' There can be no doubt but that the coming of Mr. Finch has done 
our city great good, and the movement that his work among us has 
started will not likely cease until much or quite all of the evil that in- 
temperance has already caused and is yet causing in our beautiful and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 77 

growing city is entirely removed, and the sources of it uprooted and 
destroyed. Larger audiences than ever before gathered upon any occa 
sion in this city crowded the Methodist Episcopal Church for the first 
two or three evenings of the course, until it became necessary to ex- 
change the church for the court-room in order to accommodate the vast 
throngs that nightly gathered to hear the famous eloquent lecturer. 
There could not have been less than twelve hundred present at the lec- 
ture on last Sabbath evening ; they filled the court-room to overflowing, 
crowding its aisles and packing its seats until every mite of space that 
could possibly be utilized, either for sitting or standing, was taken up." 

One of the chief aims which Mr. Finch sought in all his 
work was permanence. He determined to guard against 
reaction by every wise precaution that could be adopted. 
He always urged the importance of the continuous moral 
and intellectual development of reformed men, and the 
necessity of providing rooms where they could meet to- 
gether every day, or at any interval of leisure, and find pure 
and ennobling associations and surroundings. The York 
Republican mentions some of this practical work : 

" The great event of the week and of the season has been Mr. Finch's 
lectures. The largest hopes and expectations of the temperance people 
have been more than realized. Audiences of four to seven hundred 
crowded the City Hall every night, and were held in the most wrapt 
attention to the very end. In fact, the interest increased from the very 
first meeting. People from all parts of the country were in attendance, 
and the hall, 50x60, was packed till there wasn't standing room, and 
many had to go away. 

" The results are most satisfactory. Eight hundred and sixty-six per- 
sons took the pledge and donned the Red Ribbon, and have gone to work 



78 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

in dead earnest to get their friends to go with them. Last night three- 
dollar shares, to the extent of nearly four hundred dollars, were sold for 
a library and reading-room, to be established in York, free to all, under 
the auspices of the Red Kibbon men. It is impossible to estimate the 
amount of good done." 

The Nebraska Herald reports the library enterprise in- 
augurated in Plattsmouth : 

" Mr. Finch, the great temperance Red Ribbon man, closed his labors 
here on Sunday evening last by talking to an audience which packed 
Fitzgerald Hall full. No more can it be said that only nigger minstrels 
or a school exhibition can induce Plattsmouth to turn out in force. A 
pale, overworked temperance lecturer brought them all out, old and 
young. That's saying a good deal for Mr. Finch. 

" Further, over six hundred and eighty-six persons have taken the Red 
Ribbon and signed a pledge to abstain from all alcoholic drink as a bev- 
erage, and $384.53 in cash was raised, which, after paying the expenses, 
leaves two hundred dollars for the purchase of a library and the establish- 
ment of a reading-room. " 

The Red Ribbon library and reading-room found a warm 
advocate in Mr. Finch. In Beatrice, Crete, Sutton, Hast- 
ings, and other cities money was raised, in his meetings to 
put in operation these beneficent institutions in their com- 
munities. The Saline Co%mty Union said of the work in 
Crete : 

" Mr. Finch closed up his work here on Tuesday night. He spoke 
four nights in the church and seven at the Opera House besides Sunday 
afternoon, making twelve able and exhaustive lectures on the various 
points that came up. 

" The work closed with the organization of the Crete Red Ribbon 
Club, with a library and reading-room in connection. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 79 

"Mr. Finch's lectures have been practical and convincing throughout. 
At length a prophet has arisen in the temperance agitation who has 
found the true way to handle it. His arguments are facts, not personal- 
ities ; his appeals are to the fitness of things, not to men's passions. The 
end is that, while coals of fire are heaped upon some heads, it is not the 
speaker, but the facts that do it. And facts are stubborn things to 
combat." 

During the first three years of Mr. Finch's temperance 
work Mrs. Finch constantly accompanied him, assisting in 
all his meetings by recitations and select readings, which 
were always highly appreciated and commended. She 
often relieved her husband by conducting the morning 
prayer-meetings which he always inaugurated in connection 
with his Red Ribbon work. The effort was made to bring 
the pledged men to understand that there is an Arm 
stronger than human on which they might lean for help in 
every hour of weakness, a Saviour who helps when earthly 
aid is refused. 

Mr. Finch's great success in pledging men and in keep- 
ing them loyal to their obligations may be attributed to his 
teaching them the measure of their own weakness, and the 
imperative need of Divine guidance and strength to sustain 
them in their hours of temptation. 

Dr. S. H. King, of Lincoln, JSTeb., one of the most 
prominent co-workers with Mr. Finch, thus summarizes his 
Ked Ribbon work : 

" The earlier labors of John B. Finch in the Eed Ribbon movement in 
Nebraska and adjoining States were unprecedented in the accomplish- 



80 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

ment of permanent good for temperance, and ultimately Prohibition. 
His work in this line, inaugurated and carried forward in this State, 
though it has been largely superseded by the organization of Prohibition 
clubs, was the school in which not only the individuals composing the 
Prohibition Party of to-day, but also that larger element which favors 
the principle, but still clings to the old parties, were educated up to an 
honest conviction of Prohibition as a policy for the best interests of the 
State. 

" While Mr. Finch never omitted any of the essentials comprising the 
Christian's duty and the obligations due from man to God, his efforts 
partook more of that practical form— his duty to his fellow-man, his duty 
to State and nation, performed with a view of bringing the greatest good 
to the greatest number. 

" His success in leading men to reform lay in his graphic and forcible 
manner of presenting the various evils growing out of the use of intoxi- 
cants, the effects upon the individual physically, socially, and morally ; 
and as the individual is the unit of society, its evil effects must be shared 
by the whole people, the innocent suffering with the guilty. So that 
when men were led to see that to abandon the use of intoxicants was the 
best course for them as individuals, they were at the same time con- 
vinced that such a policy was best for the State. 

" Coming to Nebraska at a time when her people were lethargic on the 
subject of temperance, when every town and hamlet was cursed with 
dram-shops under the license system, the abundant fruits of his labor in 
the Red Eibbon work were the subject of remark and astonishment to 
even the most zealous and hopeful. 

" His first engagement at Lincoln, the capital city, was for seven nights. 

" Many wondered what any speaker could find to say on this one 
theme for seven consecutive lectures that would interest the same people. 
The seven lectures were delivered, the interest increasing until no audi- 
ence-room in the city was large enough to seat those who came to hear. 
At the close of the first week, arrangements were made to continue the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 81 

meetings for another week, and before that ended the interest had so 
increased, and signers to the pledge were so numerous, that the meetings 
were continued during the third week. The twenty-first or last lecture 
of that series was delivered on Sunday evening at the Opera House, 
which was crowded to its utmost capacity, hundreds being turned away 
unable to gain admittance. This illustrates the inexhaustible fund of 
information, the unlimited scope and variety of his arguments, and the 
boundless resources at his command as a public speaker. 

" He delivered upon the jDlatform to Lincoln audiences in all ninety- 
one addresses. The last of these was on the evening of November 1st, 
1886, the night preceding the State election. The Republicans held 
their final rally at the Opera House the same hour. Their meeting was 
preceded by a street parade — torch-light procession headed by a band 
of music to enthuse the masses and draw the crowd. They also engaged 
the heaviest orator of their party in the State, at a cost of two hundred 
and fifty dollars. 

" After all this effort their audience numbered less than five hundred, 
while the attendance at Finch's lecture was two thousand. Such was 
the high estimation in which the speaker was held by the citizens in the 
town where he resided eight years. 

" The political results of this movement are beyond computation ; 
some, however, are visible. The Nebraska Legislature of 1881 came 
within one vote of submitting to the people a prohibitorj 7 constitutional 
amendment, which measure cost the liquor ring much alarm and many 
thousand dollars to accomplish its defeat. The same Legislature enacted 
the present high-license law, which was then regarded as a long stride 
and a great victory for temperance. 

" Mr. Finch's labors during his residence in Nebraska may be said to 
be national, for they were confined to no one State for any long period. 
Kansas and Iowa were, however, large recipients of his labor. 

" How much the former is indebted to him for constitutional Prohibi- 
tion and the latter for her prohibitory statute can never be estimated." 



CHAPTEE Y. 

THE GOOD TEMPLAR MISSIONARY TENT. 

" I am proud of the Order of which I am a member. Looking at its 
battle-scarred flag, and back over the long and glorious route it has trav- 
elled, I see hope for the future. I see the time coming when our organ- 
izations, our forces, shall stand together on the heights of victory and 
shout over the redemption of the land from the dread curse of intem- 
perance. And when that day shall come, and drunkenness and misery 
and outlawry shall cease ; when happy homes and happy wives and 
children shall no longer fear the encroachments of this terrible curse — 
then, Brother and Sister Good Templar, take our flag, the flag of Good 
Templary, with its motto of faith, hope, and charity, and furl it, and lay 
it away, honored and revered, to be kept with holy things." — From a 
speech by John B. Finch at Decatur, III., March 31 si, 1882. 

In God's own might 
We gird us for the coming fight, 
And, strong in Him whose cause is ours 
In conflict with unholy powers, 
We grasp the weapons He has given — 
The Light, and Truth, and Love of Heaven. 

Whiitier. 

T I THE Grand Lodge of Wisconsin has long been known 
-*- and recognized as among the most active and aggres- 
sive of Good Templar jurisdictions. Its leaders have been 




.J 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 85 

talented, earnest, and conscientious men, ever watchful 
and prompt in attention to its interests. 

The Grand Lodge executive determined to carry on a 
vigorous summer campaign in 1878. They purchased a 
large tent of sufficient capacity to seat more than one thou- 
sand people. A strong man was employed to take charge 
of the canvas and see that it was properly raised and the 
seats arranged under it, and after the close of each series of 
meetings, that it was packed and shipped to the next point 
where it was to be used. 

The services of Mr. Finch were secured for the months 
of June and July. Two days were devoted to the work in 
each locality visited. In special cases one or two extra 
days were given. 

Three services were held in the tent each day, Mr. Finch 
being always present at each, and delivering addresses in 
the afternoon and evening. 

Wisconsin has a large German population, some counties 
being almost entirely occupied by that race. Very little 
had ever been accomplished in the direction of securing 
their attention to the subject of temperance. The beer 
saloon flourished everywhere among them, practically unre- 
strained and unassailed. 

In the cities along the rivers, where spring freshets bring 
the " log drives" from the timber regions, a motley crowd 
gathers to work in the mills. Every nationality is repre- 
sented by its worst specimens of character, Perhaps in no 



86 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

part of the world is the brutalizing effects of beer drinking 
more marked than in the lumber towns and mill cities of 
the pineries. 

When spring opens and the lumber camps are abandoned 
till the next winter, the vicious current of life in the saw- 
mill towns is re-enforced by accessions from the " woods," 
of men whose rude life, far away from the restraints of 
social order, has fitted them for any disorderly deeds their 
drink-maddened minds may plan. Most of these men find 
employment in the mills, which run to their fullest capacity 
through the summer months. During work hours they are 
at their places, but 

" When night 
Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons 
Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine." 

The large numbers of these half-savage men, banded 
together by the mystic ties of long association, educated in 
the dram-shop schools of crime, with brains steeped in 
liquor, and every moral sense stupefied by their continuous 
potations, make them a dangerous class in any city. The 
timidity or complicity of the official guardians of the law 
often enables these depredators to escape punishment for 
acts the most outrageous, indecent and criminal. It is not 
uncommonly remarked that the mill-hands " run the town." 

Later years have shown marked progress in moral devel- 
opment and regard for law in many of the cities where Mr. 
Finch found the lawless elements in undisturbed possession 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 87 

and in the zenith of their power. German saloon-keepers 
and German brewers furnished the necessary stimulus to 
inflame bad passions and incite their victims to open acts of 
violence and often to bloodshed. 

The advent of Mr. Finch into cities where the dram-shop 
sovereignty seemed secure aroused the fierce wrath, of these 
envoys of Moloch. They scowled their hate as he passed 
them on the street, and threatened personal violence. 

The Templar tent, with its flag floating before their eyes, 
was a daily rebuke that stung them almost to madness, and 
the brave, strong words of Mr. Finch, with his keen dis- 
section of the liquor crime, his unanswerable arguments for 
abstinence, and his statesman-like plea for prohibition filled 
them with ungovernable rage. 

The liquor men did not always confine themselves to 
invective. Juvenal says, " There is great unanimity 
among the dissolute." (Magna inter molles concordia.) 
It seemed to be the determination of the saloon sym- 
pathizers in every town to inflict serious injury on the 
people gathered in the tent. In spite of the watchfulness 
of the guards, which it was found necessary to station on 
the outside, the stay-ropes of the great tent were repeatedly 
cut, and almost superhuman exertions were sometimes re- 
quired to prevent the huge canvas from falling and crush- 
ing or mangling scores of people under the heavy centre 
pole. In the providence of God no such calamity was per- 
mitted, but the pitiless rage of the rum-sellers and their 



88 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

besotted minions, who could coolly plot a wholesale slaughter 
was manifest to all the people, and sank the liquor business 
lower in their estimation. 

Drunken men often disturbed the evening meetings, 
their persistency and sometimes their unguarded expres- 
sions betraying the instigators who had plied them with 
liquor and hired them to perform the shameless service. 

Mrs. Finch usually gave one or two temperance recita- 
tions at each meeting. One night she recited the old poem, 
"I've Drank My Last Glass," and was interrupted by an 
intoxicated man, who muttered a vulgar oath and yelled, 
' ' I no drink my last glass. ■ ? Quick as a flash the husband 
sprang to his feet and stood beside his wife. His eyes 
blazed with indignation, and it was fortunate for the 
drunken wretch that he was beyond Mr. Finch's reach in 
the dense crowd. Although there were many emissaries 
from the saloons in the tent, and all of them were bent on 
mischief, Mr. Finch demanded : 

" Some of you men who can reach him roll that beer- 
cask outside before we proceed. 1 will do it, if necessary." 

A muscular friend of good order obeyed the command, 
and no further disturbance occurred that evening, though 
many expected the stinging rebuke from Mr. Finch would 
be the signal for a general onslaught by the liquor forces. 

The result of the two months' work was a large gain in 
Good Templar membership and in the public esteem in 
which the Order was held. The memory of the tent and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 89 

its great gatherings of absorbed listeners, and the many 
conversions to virtue and sobriety made in the meetings, 
lingers yet among the people. 

The Good Templar tent campaign of 1878 was so suc- 
cessful and produced such good and lasting results that the 
Grand Lod<re executive determined to conduct a similar 
series of meetings in the summer of 1879. Mr. Finch and 
Colonel John Sobieski were employed, and in company 
they visited a large number of towns. The bitterness 
manifested by the liquor people the preceding year seemed 
to have grown intenser. Threats of violence were louder 
and more open, but none of them were executed. 

In one village in the lumber district the meetings opened 
with a speech from Colonel Sobieski in the afternoon and 
from Mr. Finch at night. The Brewers' Congress had 
held its session in Philadelphia a few weeks before, and 
Mr. Finch spoke of it as the beer brewers' big drunk, add- 
ing : 

" I say drunk because they never adjourn without a 
beer-and-brandy, wine-and-punch banquet, at which most 
of their members get * boozy.' " 

" You voz von liar !" called a voice from the 

audience ; " if you don'd shut ub, I lick out of you." 

Colonel Sobieski was presiding. He rose and said firmly : 

" You must not interrupt the speaker." 
He mustn't lie, den," answered the disturber. 
Silence, sir !" thundered Sobieski, who had now located 






90 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the man, " and take that cigar out of your mouth or leave 
the tent." 

The man, who proved to be the proprietor of one of the 
breweries in the village, muttered a low curse and became 
silent. It was ascertained afterward that he was not a 
naturalized citizen. Although not then aware of this fact, 
Mr. Finch, in resuming his speech, commented severely 
upon the foreigner who comes to this country to escape 
from the despotisms of Europe, and forthwith seeks to set 
up a despotism of drunkard -makers, before he has become a 
citizen of the commonwealth that offers him a refuge and 
protection. 

" How contemptible," said Mr. Finch, "is the poor 
wretch whose lips have always been sealed by the iron hand 
of an emperor when he attempts to silence free speech in 
America ! Coming from a country where he had nothing 
and could get nothing, he finds here not only an asylum 
from oppression, but a generous nation offering him her 
choicest gifts, if he will reach forth the hand of honest 
industry to grasp them. How mean the man who re- 
ceives so much and returns so little, who seeks to set 
Gambrinus on a beer-keg throne, and compel American 
freemen to bow to his drunken majesty's imperious man- 
dates !" 

The next day a drunken priest had an attack of delirium 
tremens, and ran through the streets yelling like a demon. 
In commenting on the events of the day, as was always Mr. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 91 

Finch's custom, he alluded to the horrible spectacle of a 
drink-crazed priest, and said : 

" He professed to be a minister of religion, but as he ran 
along the street he looked more like a barrel of swill." 

After this the liquor men and some of the priest's fol- 
lowers openly proclaimed their intention to mob the tent 
and drive the speakers away. Hearing this, Mr. Finch 
arranged that Sobieski, himself, and the tent manager 
should walk the entire length of the town every morning, 
going up on one side of the street and returning on the 
other, thus passing before the doors of each one of the 
seventy saloons. They were never molested in these morn- 
ing strolls, although a frowning, low-browed, bleary-faced 
crowd of men was often found on some street corner near a 
saloon. 

Twenty -four hours after the tent was packed and shipped 
and the speakers had departed the brave (?) defenders of 
the dram-shops were heard and seen blustering about town 
with guns on their shoulders and big revolvers in their belts, 
hunting for " Finch and Sobieski !" i 

In Oconto two of the saloon-keepers were members of 
the City Council, and very influential in that body. The 
presence of the tent in town, and Mr. Finch's lectures made 
them furious. While they made no violent demonstration, 
as they repeatedly threatened, they levelled at him a vin- 
dictive resolution which one of the saloon-keepers intro- 
duced and the City Council obsequiously passed. Full of 



92 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

bitterness and bad grammar, it fell harmless upon its in- 
tended victim, and made its originator a butt of ridicule 
even among his patrons and boon companions. 

The Oconto Reporter of August 16th published the reso- 
lution under the following derisive head-lines : 

" 'TIS DONE ! 

The Resolutionee has Resoltjtionized ! 

The North Ward Representative Immortalized ! 

Growler Growls a Growl Thusly ! 

u Resolved, That the Common Council, irrespective of 
nationality, creed or station in life, hail temperance in all 
its ramifications as a harbinger of peace, prosperity, and 
happiness, to the human race, (nevertheless) said Council 
shrinks not from denouncing as a fraud, a cheat and hypo- 
crite, that arab itinerant Tramp and carpet bagger ! whom 
invade our peaceable city on a day of last week, dubbed 
with the garb of sanctity and temperance that he might the 
better disseminate the seeds of discord and sectarian ani- 
mosity among law-abiding citizens ; whom know they are 
right and bound to go ahead, the language of the Tramp 
to the contrary, 

Notwithstanding ! 
(Signed) Jas Donlevy." 

This ridiculous display of spite aroused the indignation 
of the citizens and served to emphasize Mr. Finch's deck- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 93 

rations and keep them in the memory of the public. Under 
the lash of popular condemnation the sycophantic Council 
beat a hasty retreat, repealing the resolution at the next 
meeting after its adoption. 

At Xew Lisbon a saloon-keeper named Wright was a 
leading politician and a great favorite among the drinking 
boys and men of the town. He was a large man, broad- 
shouldered and brawny-fisted, with a reputation among 
" the boys" of being a dangerous man when aroused, a 
terrible fighter who always whipped or killed " his man." 

Wright reported, though he afterward denied it, that 
Colonel Sobieski came into his saloon, after speaking on 
temperance in the church on Sunday evening, and treated 
the crowd assembled there. Mr. Finch was at the tent 
when some of the young men brought him the report. He 
emphatically declared, " It is a saloon lie, and you may tell 
Wright that I say so. ' ' 

The young men protested against the bold declaration, 
because they feared Wright would be desperate, no one in 
the town ever having dared to contradict him. Mr. Finch 
laughingly answered : 

" Where does this valiant drunkard-maker bury his 
dead ?" 

A violent rain-storm compelled the people to abandon 
the tent that evening and to hold the service in the church. 
Mr. Finch was the speaker, and denounced in unmeasured 
terms the cowardly slanders promulgated by the saloon- 



94 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

keeper. Colonel Sobieski had already, in the afternoon 
meeting, made an unqualified and emphatic denial of the 
story. After the evening audience was dismissed some 
friend hurried forward, and in a whisper informed the 
speakers that Wright was waiting for them outside the 
church door. Mr. Finch only laughed, and taking the arm 
of Colonel Sobieski, followed their host to his home. As 
the family sat chatting with their guests a knock was heard 
at the door, and saloon-keeper Wright appeared on the 
threshold. Catching sight of Mr. Finch he angrily ex- 
claimed : 

" What made you say I kept a low, dirty saloon, where 
a decent hog would die of cholera in three minutes ?" 

Colonel Sobieski stepped promptly forward, and calmly 
replied : 

" Mr. Wright, Finch didn't say that ; 1 said it." 

" You, Finch, what do you mean by attacking me in 
public?" roared Wright, paying no attention to the col- 
onel's remark. 

By this time Sobieski's indignation at the man who had 
so wantonly and falsely accused him burst forth. 

" You charged me with having treated a crowd in your 
saloon Sunday night. You knew it was false, and I pub- 
licly declared it false. You can quarrel with me, for I 
have denounced you as an infamous liar and the keeper of 
a low, vile doggery not fit for a hog to die in." 

Wright met this attack with unexpected coolness. His 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 95 

anger was all against Mr. Finch. He replied to So- 
bieski : 

" I didn't say you treated in my saloon." 

" What did you say ?" asked the colonel. 

" I said that a certain temperance man in this town came 
into my saloon and treated the crowd." 

"You said that?" exclaimed Mr. Finch, now for the 
first time taking part in the conversation. 

" Yes," answered Wright. 

"Well," said Finch, "a man who will take another 
man's money and then say that about him behind his back 
is a disreputable scoundrel. Sobieski didn't say that ; I 

SAY IT." 

Wright clenched his fist and hissed between his set teeth, 
" Mr. Finch, you would not say that out in the street." 

Mr. Finch laughingly replied, " Oh, yes, I would. It 
is a failing of the Finches that they say the same things out 
on the street that they do in the house." 

" All right, I'll meet you to-morrow on the street." 

The Honorable Senator who had offered his hospitalities 
to the temperance workers now sternly addressed the angry 
rum-seller : 

" Do you dare to come into my home and insult my 
guests ?" 

" I beg your pardon," said Wright, turning to go, add- 
ing sneeringly as he looked at Mr. Finch, " I suppose I'll 
see you. ' y 



96 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" Oil, yes/' was the indifferent reply ; "I'll be around 
where you can easily find me. ' ' 

The next morning friends were earnest in urging the 
lecturers to avoid being seen on the street, but they did not 
heed the advice. They first drove to the post-office, then 
up and down the various streets of the town, then to the 
grounds where the tent was being packed for shipment, 
and back through the principal streets. 

A crowd of roughs occupied the sidewalk in front of 
Wright's saloon. 

" Let us drive very slowly," said Mr. Finch as they 
passed the place. They drew rein, stood still a minute or 
two looking at the sullen assemblage, and then drove on. 

So demonstration having been made when the oppor- 
tunity was offered, it was suggested that the saloon men 
were waiting till the hour of departure to attack Mr. Finch 
and Colonel Sobieski at the depot, which was outside the 
corporation limits, and therefore beyond police surveillance. 
Whether or not this was their intention, the plan was never 
executed. Wright and a few of his cronies were upon the 
platform, but said nothing and made no attempt at assault. 

An amusing result of this whole controversy transpired 
soon after. Wright's great reputation as a fighter and 
dangerous man, of which he had been so proud, was for- 
ever lost. The little boys on the street laughed at him, 
and the stories of his prowess, which before had been heard 
by his associates with a respect akin to awe, were now 



THE LIFE OF JO UN B. FINCH. 9? 

openly ridiculed. He could not endure constant derision, 
and therefore sold his New Lisbon saloon and moved to the 
northern part of the State, where he opened a small hotel. 

More than a year afterward Colonel Sobieski was travel- 
ling in North Wisconsin and stopped one night at Wright's 
hotel, not knowing that the proprietor was the old New 
Lisbon saloon-keeper. Wright recognized him and made 
himself known, saying : 

" I came very near licking that fellow (Mr. Finch) who 
w T as with you at New Lisbon." 

" You did ?" asked Sobieski solemnly. 

" Yes," answered Wright ; " the only reason I didn't 
was because I had a great many friends among the temper- 
ance men in that town." 

In the great beer city of Milwaukee the tent was pitched 
on the lake shore near the Northwestern Railway station. 
The location afforded an opportunity for the thugs, that 
always infest a large city, to readily escape after an attack, 
which they threatened. 

A State Senator, elected from Milwaukee, a prominent 
member of one of the city churches, had used all his influ- 
ence at the session of the Legislature the previous winter, 
to defeat the submission to a popular vote of a prohibitory 
constitutional amendment. In a speech in the Senate he 
attacked the principle of prohibition from the standpoint of 
a Christian and a temperance man, to which names he per- 
sistently professed to be entitled. A few timid temperance 



98 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

men begged Mr. Finch not to criticise the action of the 
Senator for fear of rousing his friends to seek some terrible 
revenge. Mr. Finch answered : 

" I am here to express my honest convictions. If I do 
less I am not worthy of the respect of any honest man. I 
believe the liquor traffic is wrong and ought to be pro- 
hibited, and that the man who, in the name of temperance 
and Christianity, opposes the suppression of the drunkard- 
mills, is c stealing the livery of Heaven to serve the devil 
in.' " 

Selecting an evening when the tent was filled to over- 
flowing he showed, by most convincing argument, the in- 
consistency and dishonesty of a member of the Legislature 
who professed to be a temperance man and a Christian, and 
yet opposed the submission of an amendment allowing the 
whole of the voting population of a State to settle the. 
liquor question by the peaceable arbitrament of the ballot. 

The keen, incisive logic and the scathing rebuke to hypoc- 
risy, stung the Senator and his saloon friends almost to 
madness. The liquor men organized to mob Mr. Finch 
and destroy the tent, and would have accomplished their 
purpose had not the authorities detailed a strong police 
guard to preserve order and protect life. With his usual 
fearlessness Mr. Finch declared that a guard was not needed, 
but the chief of police insisted upon sending them, and by 
that act no doubt prevented murder. 

At Mineral Point the arrangements of details for the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 99 

tent meetings were carefully made by Phil Allen, Grand 
Chief Templar, under whose direction the entire campaign 
was conducted. A written permit was obtained from the 
mayor to erect the tent on grounds belonging to the city. 

From the morning when the meetings opened great en- 
thusiasm and excitement prevailed. To the saloon-keepers 
it was " wormwood and gall" to see the people so stirred 
by moral influences and so thoroughly awakened to the 
demands of duty. 

A German named Schilling was the proprietor of a hotel 
and saloon in the city. One afternoon an idler at his bar 
asked him : 

u "Won't Finch and Sobieski bust your business if they 
keep on getting signers to the pledge ?" 

" them !" was the answer, " they are vorking for 

money, choost as 1 sell viskey for money. ' ' 

The words were repeated on the street, and came to the 
ear of Mr. Finch just before he stepped upon the platform 
for his evening address. Little did Schilling expect that 
his sneering words in the afternoon were to be made the 
text of the evening discourse. Mr. Finch commenced his 
address by saying : 

' ' Mr. Schilling, the saloon-keeper, says we are working for money, 
just as he is selling whiskey for money. If you pay money to Mr. 
Sobieski and to me for work that we do, you have a right to inquire 
what will be the effect upon society of the work for which you pay. If 
men pay money to Mr. Schilling for the work he does, they have also 
the right to ask how his work affects the people. If our work produces 



100 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the same effects as his, we shall all deserve the same measure of praise 
or blame. If his work produces good results and ours evil, then he is 
justly entitled to the money he receives, and we are defrauding the peo- 
ple out of every dollar they pay to us. But if our work brightens the 
home, purines the life, and lifts sinning souls from their shame into the 
peace of God's approving smile, then we honestly earn our compensa- 
tion. And if, for the money paid Mr. Schilling, he scatters blight for 
the home, fills human lives with vice and crime, and sends souls to a 
drunkard's hell, then he no more earns his money than does the high- 
way robber and the midnight assassin.' ' 

Then followed a word-painting in Mr. Finch's matchless 
style ; a young man was pictured, the bloom of health upon 
his cheek, the fire of noble ambition in his eye, his soul 
pure and unstained by evil. From the fairest home in the 
city he takes the dearest daughter for a wife. He builds a 
cottage and crowns her queen of love's new empire. Years 
pass ; baby footsteps patter on the floor, and to the honored 
word, husband, he adds the sacred name, father. Love 
and peace have their abode in that happy household, and 
no shadow of coming sorrow falls across its threshold. One 
day a companion invites the young husband and father to 
drink at Mr. Schilling's bar. He goes there more and 
more frequently. Mr. Schilling gets the money that 
formerly went to beautify the home, where the neglected 
wife now fights a brave battle with despair. Bitter tears 
wash the roses from her cheeks, gaunt poverty looks 
through the broken window-pane, and hunger sits an unin- 
vited guest at the table where generous plenty once heaped 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 101 

her stores. A bloated-faced, bleary-eyed man clad in tat- 
tered garments reels through the broken gateway and opens 
the door. He heaps curses upon the woman who has loved 
him tenderly and loyally, and tells her that the cottage is 
no longer theirs, and that a comfortless cabin in the out- 
skirts of the city must henceforth be their home. The 
cottage has been emptied of its adornments long ago, and 
they have filtered through the pawn-shop into Mr. Schill- 
ing's till, and now the cottage itself goes with the rest. 

" Tell me," demanded Mr. Finch, " what has this public 
plunderer given to the man and bis wife and his child for 
the treasures of which he has robbed them ?" 

Then he portrayed the man signing the pledge, returning 
home sober, regaining his lost character, buying back his 
bartered home, restoring its forfeited treasures, bringing 
the roses of joy to the wasted cheeks of the wife, and the 
smiles of returning hope to her eyes as she looks on hus- 
band and child frolicking together in happy forgetf ulness 
of the days of desolation. 

" If all men work for money," continued Mr. Finch, 
" which man honestly earns his wages — he who makes lives 
purer, or he who makes men baser ? he who makes the 
home bright with happiness and comfort, or he who darkens 
it with wretchedness and want ? he who lifts man into a 
heaven of peace, or he who drags him down into a hell of 
passion and sin ?" 

The fiery eloquence, the vivid description, the home 



102 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

application, the sharp contrasts, the intense earnestness of 
the speaker, carried the audience by storm. 

Many saloon men were present at the meeting, but for 
once they were unable to stem the tide of adverse sentiment 
that set in against them. They left the grounds gnashing 
their teeth and vowing vengeance, but scarcely knowing 
how they were to strike down their brave and determined 
foes. 

Gathering in the saloons, they hatched a plan which they 
agreed to put into execution on the morrow, and from 
which they expected great success. 

The mayor was absent from the city on the day the tent 
was set up and for several days thereafter. Unaware of 
the fact that he had granted a permit to the temperance 
people for the use of the city grounds, the liquor men had 
determined to have them ejected by legal process. Apply- 
ing to the city attorney for aid in carrying out this plan, 
they were much chagrined to learn that under the laws of 
Wisconsin it might consume six months to complete an 
ejectment process. Failing in this direction, they made 
preparations to put up a bar on the grounds, and proclaimed 
their intention to sell beer in the evening close beside the 
tent, threatening Mr. Finch with assassination if he dared 
to interfere. When informed of their intention Mr. Finch 
quietly remarked : 

" There will be no beer-selling on the grounds." 

During the afternoon several empty barrels and some 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 103 

planks were taken to the grounds and set up within a few 
feet of the entrance to the tent. Colonel Sobieski arrived 
before the people had begun to assemble and saw the prep- 
arations for beer- selling. He had just pulled down the 
planks and kicked over the barrels when a drayman drove 
up with a load of beer. 

" What are you going to do with that beer?" he de- 
manded. 

" I was ordered to leave it here," the driver responded. 

" You must not unload it here." 

" I don't dare haul it back." 

" Dump it in the road, then." 

1 ' No, I am a-goin' to leave it here as I was paid to. ' ' 

" If you unload one keg here I will have you arrested in 
less than half an hour." 

" Well, I don't want to git into any trouble ; I'll just 
drive back." 

As the people gathered for the evening service there was 
a general feeling of uneasiness concerning the next move of 
the liquor men, many of whom were inside the tent and 
many more gathered on the outside. From city and coun- 
try throngs of listeners came, filling every seat and aisle, 
and, after the sides of the tent were lifted, crowding around 
the outside as far as the eye could penetrate the darkness. 

Mr. Finch gave the address. He summed up the wrongs 
and injuries of the liquor traffic, and in the very faces of 
men who had sworn they would kill him, he hurled his de- 



104 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

nunciations of their destructive and crime-breeding busi- 
ness. Coming to the place that night with assassination 
written in their hearts and hate gleaming in their eyes, they 
stood for two hours, speechless and motionless, listening to 
the man they hated and hoped to destroy as he unfolded 
the horrible story of their crimes. Bravely, unhesitatingly 
the young orator plunged the sharp scalpel of investigation 
into the quivering consciences of his would-be murderers, 
and held up to public scorn and execration their evil ]3ur- 
poses and lawless aims. 

This boldness utterly paralyzed the men who sought his 
life. Sullenly and silently they marched away w T ith the 
quiet citizens when the meeting closed. 

But the brewer of the city was determined that the im- 
petus to crime should not be wanting. As soon as he 
learned that the drayman had not been permitted to leave 
the first load of beer at the tent, he sent two wagon loads to 
an open lot on the opposite side of the street to be dealt 
out in free drinks. 

A disorderly mob already surrounded the beer-kegs when 
the evening exercises closed. It was augmented by the 
accession of all the desperate characters who had lurked 
around the tent. Oaths, threats, and foul language filled 
the air and " rendered night hideous." 

One of the local temperance leaders, who learned that the 
mayor had returned late in the evening, hastened to his 
home to inform him of the disorder and the impending 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 105 

peril. Although not a man recognized as specially friendly 
to temperance, the mayor arose, and dressing quickly, went 
out and found two constables, and with them hurried to 
the scene of disturbance and at once dispersed the crowd 
and averted the danger that threatened from an infuriated 
mob maddened by unlimited potations of beer. 

The entire tent campaign was more or less fraught with 
peril, but Mr. Finch gave no indication at any time that he 
recognized a danger. He never swerved a hair' s-breadth 
from a plan he had made or a path he had chosen because 
of threats or opposition. 

" Dream not helm and harness 
The sign of valor true ; 
Peace hath higher tests of manhood 
Than battle ever knew." 

Colonel Sobieski, who saw much of him and knew him 
intimately, pays this beautiful tribute to his great genius : 

" Taking him all in all, he was the greatest man of our reform. He 
was our Paul, for in his masterly work, ' The People vs. the Liquor 
Traffic,' he laid down the principles on which we must fight our battles 
and win our victories. He was our Luther, for he stood in his old party 
protesting against the spirit that ruled it, and when protestation failed, 
he led the new and better party. He was our Wesley, for by his elo- 
quence, indomitable spirit and organizing power, he fixed our party on 
such firm foundation that our future success is assured. He was our 
Bayard, fearless and reproachless." 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE INCEPTION OF HIGH LICENSE. 

Kobes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, 

And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks ; 

Arm it in rags, a pigmy' s straw doth pierce it. 

Shakespeare. 

/^vNE of the results of the great Lincoln revival which 
^-r Mr. Finch so successfully conducted in 1877 was the 
setting in motion of a plan of regulation for the liquor 
traffic which never received his approbation, although for 
several years he used his best endeavors to secure from its 
adoption the benefits which its friends claimed would cer- 
tainly follow. 

Like many other communities, Lincoln contained a large 
number of people who could not be moved by any moral 
upheaval of society. Their archetypes, the Scribes and 
Pharisees, wrapped in their pretentious robes of self-satis- 
faction, cavilled and questioned, but would not gather with 
the multitude to see the Master's matchless miracles. But 
even this querulous, unconverted host had felt from afar 
some influence of that fiery enthusiasm which stirred the 
moral life of the city, and led many a vice-tainted spirit 
out into the morning light of Divine forgiveness. The 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 107 

opposers of radical temperance reform saw that more rigid 
repression of dram-shop evils would be demanded by the 
newly aroused public sentiment. They feared that a 
demand would be made for the entire suppression of the 
saloon business. Had such a demand been urged by the 
united influence of the Church and the temperance forces, 
at once and persistently, the city might have been forever 
freed from the contaminations of the dram-shop. But 
while the liquor power had been seriously shaken, and 
waited results with anxious expectancy, the temperance 
element was not yet ready to take full advantage of the 
great moral victory already won. These conditions were 
favorable to compromise, and the city ordinance requiring 
the payment of a fee of $1000 for a saloon license was the 
result. 

While Mr. Finch and his most earnest co-workers were 
never satisfied with high license nor willing to accept it as 
an ultimate end, they were led to hope that the rigid en- 
forcement of such an ordinance would secure to society 
temporary relief from some of the more grievous burdens 
of the dram-shop system. They therefore interposed no 
objection to the scheme, but rather aided to secure a rigid 
enforcement of its provisions. That they were greatly 
mistaken in their conception of the near and the remote 
consequences resulting from the operation of this policy 
many of its original friends have since confessed, Mr. Finch 
often and publicly declaring that his work for the passage 



108 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

of the high-license law was the most serious blunder of his 
life. 

That his ultimate aim and hope was always the entire 
overthrow of the liquor power was made plain in every 
speech. The Good Templar Lodge of Lincoln adopted the 
following resolutions at their next session after the close of 
the revival meetings of 1877 : 

" Resolved, That as temperance workers, we tender our heartiest 
thanks to Hon. John B. Finch for the faithful, able, and successful ser- 
vice he has rendered our cause in this city. 

" Resolved, That we gladly recognize and earnestly commend Mr. 
Finch's uncompeomising devotion to the docteine of Pkohibition, and 

THAT WE HEKEBT GIVE OUE UNITED TESTIMONY TO THE FIDELITY AND ABILITY 
WITH WHICH HE HAS SET FOETH AND DEFENDED THE POLICY OF PEOHIBITOEY 
LEGISLATION." 

" Resolved, That our sympathies and earnest prayers shall follow him 
and his estimable companion as they go from us to labor in other locali- 
ties in our State, and that, hailing them as true representatives of our 
noble Order, and advocates together of the grandest cause that ever en- 
listed human heart or tongue, we shall ever commend them to Him who 
is pledged to care for His children and who will infinitely recompense 
all their faithful labors." 

In the year 1879, Mr. Slocumb, a representative in the 
Lower House of the Nebraska Legislature, introduced a 
bill embodying the principal features of the Lincoln high- 
license city ordinance, and extending its application to the 
entire State. In this bill the license fee for cities of over 
ten thousand inhabitants was fixed at a minimum of $1000, 
while the minimum fee required for all other cities was 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 109 

placed at $500. County commissioners, by resolution, or 
municipal councils, by ordinance, were permitted to estab- 
lish higher rates for licenses, but must not reduce the fees 
below the sum named in the State law. The other provi- 
sions of the bill introduced by Mr. Slocumb were similar to 
regulations prescribed in the license statutes of most of the 
other States. 

In the legislative session of 1879, very little attention was 
given this bill. It was looked upon by some members as a 
huge joke, by others as the scheme of a visionary, and by the 
entire body as an impracticable measure. 

The same year, the Kansas Legislature submitted a pro- 
hibitory constitutional amendment, the first ever put before 
the people of a whole State, for adoption. The absorb- 
ing campaign for the adoption of " the amendment" 
in Kansas aroused the temperance forces of the whole 
nation, and they watched the contest with intense inter- 
est. 

Nebraska, so close upon the borders of this moral battle- 
ground, felt the thrill of enthusiasm animating the earnest 
souls in the sister State. After the adoption of the Kansas 
amendment by a vote of the people at the November elec- 
tion in 1880, Mr. Finch, who at the January session of the 
Grand Lodge had been elected the official head of the Good 
Templar Order in Nebraska, gave his whole time, and used 
the entire machinery of the Order to secure the submission 
of a similar amendment in his own State. In this work the 



110 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Christian ministers and churches and all the temperance 
societies were heartily enlisted. 

During the two months intervening between the State 
election and the meeting of the Legislature, he was con- 
stantly engaged in public meetings, lecturing but one even- 
ing in each town, and everywhere urging the importance 
of the amendment and the necessity of active and vigilant 
effort in its behalf. To those portions of the State which 
he could not reach, he wrote hundreds of letters to the 
workers explaining the work demanded of tliem and plead- 
ing for prompt action. 

Before the session convened, he had arranged to have 
scores of letters, written by influential constituents, sent to 
each member-elect of the Legislature. These letters de- 
manded the submission of the amendment. Petitions 
signed by thousands of citizens were sent in, to be presented 
to the Solons at the proper time. 

When the Legislature met, Mr. Finch called the most 
influential temperance men in the State to the capital, 
rented rooms for headquarters of all workers, and main- 
tained constant communication with the members of the 
House of Representatives and Senate who were most favor- 
ably disposed toward the amendment bill. 

The Grand Lodge met during the first week of the legis- 
lative session. Mr. Finch had used every effort to make 
this the largest, as he felt it was the most important, gather- 
ing of Good Templars ever convened in the State. The 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. Ill 

sanguine enthusiasm of their leader had spread among the 
lodges, and they nearly all were fully represented. 

Mr. Finch was unanimously re-elected ; very strong reso- 
lutions in favor of the amendment were adopted, and all 
the expense of the jDetitions that had been sent out, the 
maintenance of headquarters, and the expenses of workers 
to remain in the city till the fate of the bill was decided, 
were cheerfully assumed by the Grand Lodge. The body 
adjourned and the members went to their homes filled with 
encouragement and high hope of success. 

Mr. Finch labored night and day for the passage of the 
Prohibitory Amendment Bill, waiting till the adjournment 
of House or Senate, late at night, to meet some members 
and arising early to secure interviews with others before 
the House convened in the morning. 

Close observation gave him a clear insight into the hearts 
of many members who believed they were concealing their 
intentions from his keen gaze. Some days before the final 
vote was taken he wrote in his diary : 

" I think the bill will be beaten. Political cowards and 
knaves are at the bottom of the whole fight against us." 

But, like "William of Orange, he was ready to fight the 
battle just as earnestly and bravely when anticipating defeat 
as if he had been certain of victory. 

Before the committee of the House he made an elaborate 
argument, meeting and answering every objection that had 
been raised either against the submission of the question or 



112 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

against the principle of prohibition.* ISTo man answered 
or attempted to answer it. 

Omaha and Lincoln liquor manufacturers and dealers, and 
those of other cities, nocked to the capital with consterna- 
tion written in their faces, and " big figures" written in 
their check-books for any man who would sell to them his 
conscience. 

Money won the battle. Six traitors, representing, or 
misrepresenting, temperance constituencies, and pledged to 
their supporters to vote for the submission, yielded to the 
pressure of the liquor men. February 24th the test vote 
came, and after every absentee that could be secured had 
been sent for, one vote was lacking of the necessary three 
fifths required to submit constitutional questions. 

When Mr. Finch returned home late that night his wife 
noticed, for the first time, a look almost like despair in his 
face. For once his sanguine spirit yielded to depression. 

" Puss," he said sadly, " the bill is beaten. I feel as if 
1 had been to the funeral of a friend." 

" The defeat of the bill will make many funerals in 
Nebraska, ' ' she solemnly answered. Then both were silent, 
as mourners sitting in a house of death. 

With the morning came brighter hope and a more confi- 
dent feeling concerning legislation. Meeting the leaders 
who had acted with him, they held a hurried conference 



The speech is given entire at the close of this chapter. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 113 

early in the forenoon, to determine what steps should next 
be taken. Most of them leaned toward the Sloeumb High- 
License Bill. Mr. Finch, Dr. S. H. King, and one or two 
others, believed the wisest course would be to introduce a 
bill to prohibit the liquor traffic by statute, and as this 
would only require the votes of a majority of the members 
of each House, instead of the three-fifths vote required to 
pass a constitutional amendment bill, there was some reason 
to hope for its passage. But as the session was rapidly 
drawing to a close, and the measure had not yet been 
introduced, it was finally decided to use all their efforts to 
secure the passage of the Sloeumb bill, with some additional 
penalties,, if they could be adopted. 

Mr. Finch threw his whole soul into the work of carry- 
ing out this plan, as zealously and faithfully as though it 
had been his own. 

The legislators evidently feared the storm of indignation 
that was sure to meet them when they returned to their 
constituents, and were greatly gratified to find the temper- 
ance men supporting a license bill. By the end of two 
days the Sloeumb bill had been rushed through both 
Houses, and the first day of May fixed for the time for its 
going into operation. 

Mr. Finch had not been successful in amending the bill 
in the direction of greater stringency to the extent he had 
desired, but a few important changes were made, and the 
fatal experiment went on trial. 



114 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

That Mr. Finch had no special cause to feel the burden 
of responsibility for the high-license compromise, and all 
the long train of disastrous results to the cause of temper- 
ance which followed its adoption, is apparent. 

For two years he had labored incessantly to build up 
prohibition sentiment in the State. Never in any public 
speech or published or private letter had he advocated any 
less radical measure than the total overthrow of the drink 
traffic by law. The whole tenor of his thoughts, the one 
aim of his life work, was in the direction of utter annihila- 
tion of license and protective statutes for the liquor busi- 
ness. 

The unceasing work of the winter he had given wholly 
to the principle of prohibition, and not till that measure 
failed to pass, could he be induced to sanction any other 
plan, and then only as an unwilling follower of others, and 
not in his own rightful place as leader and commander. 

How bitterly he regretted even this reluctant adherence 
to a mistaken policy he confessed on a hundred platforms 
in the years that followed. 

As Lowell said : 

" Truth forever on the scaffold. Wrong forever on the throne," 

so it proved when high license triumphed. 

" But that scaffold hides the future, and beyond the dim unknown 
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own." 

In the wisdom of God, good is being wrought by the tern- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 115 

porary adoption of that evil system. It was, perhaps, 
necessary that the world should see tried, that last possible 
experiment in regulating wrong, and behold its lamentable 
failure. 

No license statute ever had a fairer chance to win ap- 
proval. The men who had longest and most persistently 
refused to approve the saloon, had been won to give assent 
to the new system of regulation. The friends of the 
measure made large promises of benefit from it, and the 
men who had never before expressed faith in any license 
law, believed these pledges would be fulfilled, and were will- 
ing to give their best energies to aid in securing the ex- 
pected good results. 

While a few temperance men may have then thought 
that the Slocumb law was all that would be required to 
banish the evils of intemperance, Mr. Finch never for a 
single hour considered it more than a possible stepping- 
stone to prohibition. He was ready to use it honestly as a 
means, but never accepted it as an end to be sought or desired. 

His keen observation first found its flaws and failures, 
and neither selfish pride, nor the fear of being called incon- 
sistent, restrained him from his prompt action to counteract 
the influence of his connection with the efforts for its 
adoption. 

He did far more than did the projectors and advocates of 
the high-license law to secure the thorough enforcement of 
its provisions. For a time the bitter hostility of the saloon- 



116 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

keepers in Omaha and two or three other towns misled him 
and others into the belief that there was some strength in 
the law, some power to cripple the dram-shops. 

When brave Colonel Watson B. Smith, of Omaha, 
attempted to compel obedience to the new law on the part 
of the defiant saloon-keepers of that city, Mr. Finch was in 
constant correspondence with him. When the noble col- 
onel, whose life had been repeatedly threatened by the 
desperate saloon-keepers, summoned him to Omaha for a 
last consultation before final prosecutions on a more exten- 
sive scale, he swiftly answered, and spent several hours in 
Colonel Smith's office perfecting plans. He left the office 
at about ten o'clock in the evening, promising to meet the 
colonel early next morning, and went to his hotel to sleep, 
wakening to hear the terrible announcement that Colonel 
Smith had been foully murdered, during the night, at his 
office door in the Government building. 

Scarcely waiting to dress, Mr. Finch sent the associated 
press a telegram offering, in the name of the Grand Lodge 
of Good Templars, $500 reward for the arrest and convic- 
tion of the murderers. His example was followed by the 
governor and by citizens and business men of Omaha until 
the aggregate of rewards offered reached the sum of $10,- 
000. This large reward failed to bring the perpetrators 
of the murder to justice. Mr. Finch held many consulta- 
tions with the detectives, but their best efforts never availed 
to find a reasonable clew to the mystery. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 117 

The speech before the Legislature, to which reference 
has been made, is here appended. It indicates clearly the 
position occupied by Mr. Finch during the session in which 
the high -license law was passed. 

SHALL PROHIBITORY LEGISLATION DISCRIMINATE IN FAVOR 
OF THE BEER TRAFFIC? 

A SPEECH BY JOHN B. FINCH BEFOEE A COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATURE 
OF NEBRASKA, JANUARY, 1881. 

The above question having been discussed before the committee by 
the advocates of the use of beer, Mr. Finch, addressing the committee, 
said : 

" Gentlemen : The magnitude of this question cannot be overesti- 
mated. The traffic which it is proposed to exterminate is gigantic ; one 
that affects the moral, social, business, and political life of the nation. 

" The proper relations of the traffic to society, and society's duty to 
the traffic and itself, have been for years earnestly discussed by our 
ablest and best citizens. 

" At the outset of this discussion the fact which, more than all others, 
forces itself upon our attention is — ' this question must be settled.' 

" The issues involved in the temperance movement are not useless 
delusions, born in the brain of some idle visionary, but issues evolved 
from the necessities of the people, caused by the legalized drunkard- 
making system of the United States. 

" Since the need of organized effort to abate the evils of the drink 
traffic forced itself upon the minds of the people in the early part of 
this century, tho movement has been steadily onward, until to-day it is 
the politico-religious question of the country. Like Banquo's ghost, it 
will not down. In every precinct, village, city, State, and national elec- 
tion it forces itself to the front, and judging the future by the past, will 



113 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

continue to force itself to the front until it is settled. Neither black- 
guardism, slander, bulldozing, nor corruption can stop its onward prog- 
ress. The prisons, almshouses, gambling hells, houses of prostitution — 
in short, all the disgraceful results and progeny of the liquor traffic, by 
their encroachments on everything dear to a liberty-loving and civilized 
people, force thinking men to act, whether they will or no. 

" ' History is philosophy teaching by example,' some one has said ; 
and with the fact that this question must be settled, history, in the light 
of experience, places another fact : a question is never settled until it is 
settled right. 

' ' Gentlemen, the issue involved in this movement must be settled. 
This settlement can only be permanent when the terms are in accord 
with the immutable principles of the Creator of the universe. The his- 
tory of nations proves absolutely that compromise, where principle is 
sacrificed to effect it, is the most fatal form of defeat which right can 
sustain in a contest with wrong. Tell one lie and you will find it neces- 
sary to tell others to avoid detection in the first ; make a concession to 
wrong and you will find that many more concessions will be urged to 
improve the conditions upon which the first was granted. 

' Truth crushed to earth will rise again, 1 

" From the many trials where this principle has been sustained, take 
the American Revolution as an example. The mother country claimed 
only the right to subject the colonies to the undefined and arbitrary 
power of taxation by Parliament. Parliament, by statute, declared that 
'the colonies and plantations of America have been, are, and of right 
ought to be, subordinate to and dependent upon the imperial crown and 
Parliament of Great Britain ; ' and that the king, with the advice and 
consent of Parliament, ' had, hath, and of right ought to have full power 
and authority to make statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind 
the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever.' * 



* 6 Geo., 3 ch., 12. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 119 

" By this act Parliament sought to destroy a correct principle of gov- 
ernment for the purpose of raising revenue. The inevitable result fol- 
lowed. The people in the colonies prepared to resist the encroachments 
upon their rights. Parliament, seeing the storm which its unjust legis- 
lation had raised, endeavored to allay it by modifying the first demand, 
and by another act declared that Parliament would not impose any duty 
or tax on the colonies except for the regulation of commerce, and that 
the net proceeds of such duty or tax should be applied to the use of 
the colony in which it was levied.* 

" This practically surrendered to the colonists all the positions they 
had claimed, except the right of Parliament to lay the tax. A celebrated 
American who, at this stage of affairs, was asked : ' Would you have 
the colonies engage in war over a question of a few pence on a pound of 
tea ? ' answered : ' It is not the amount of the tax, but the accursed claim 
that Parliament has the right to lay any tax, that I am opposing.' The 
sturdy colonists stood by their leaders. The bloody war which followed 
settled the question right, and the imperial crown of Great Britain lost 
its brightest gem. 

" This principle has also been demonstrated at a much later date. 
The representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled, de- 
clared : ' We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are cre- 
ated equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalien- 
able rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
ness.' Mr. Jefferson, in his original draft, emphasized the words ' all 
men,' by these words : ' He [the king] has waged cruel war against 
human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty, 
in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating 
and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur mis- 
erable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the 
opprobrium of the infidel powers, is the warfare of the Christian King of 



18 Geo., 3 ch., 12. 



120 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Great Britain. Determined to open a market where men should be 
bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every 
legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable commerce. And 
that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished dye, ' 
he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to 
purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them by murdering the 
people upon whom he also obtruded them, thus paying off former crimes 
committed against the liberties of one people with the crimes which he 
urges them to commit against the lives of another.'* 

" Slavery existed in the colonies ; the representatives feared dissent ; 
the clause was stricken out, and the general term ' all ' left undefined 
and unemphasized. The long years of physical and mental struggle for 
freedom which followed extended the mental horizon of American states- 
men, and they began to see that ' all men ' might possibly include Afri- 
cans, and thus the compromise of the Declaration was forced into the 
constitutional convention. There the wrong of slavery was not denied, 
but the feelings of the delegates were expressed by one who said : * We 
have got a wolf by the ears and we dare not hold on nor let go.' To do 
right seemed to endanger a national form of government, and the com- 
promise of the Declaration was followed by the compromise of the Con- 
stitution. The word slavery was an obnoxious one to men just emerg- 
ing from a long bloody war for their own liberties ; it was left out of the 
Constitution and only referred to in general terms, as though its exist- 
ence was to be overlooked rather than recognized. Regulate and re- 
strain was the policy adopted f as the best thing that could be done under 
the circumstances. Madison, speaking of the compromise, half apolo- 
getically said : * It were doubtless to be wished that the power of pro- 
hibiting the importation of slaves had not been postponed until the year 
1808, or rather that it had been suffered to have immediate operation. 
But it is not difficult to account either for this restriction on the gen- 



* Jefferson's Works, 1, 23. f Constitution, Sec. 9. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 121 

eral government or for the manner in which the whole clause is ex- 
pressed. It ought to be considered a great point gained in favor of 
humanity that a period of twenty years may terminate forever within 
these States a traffic which has so long and so loudly upbraided the bar- 
barism of modern policy ; that within that period it will receive a con- 
siderable discouragement from the general government, and may be 
totally abolished by a concurrence of the few States which continue the 
unnatural traffic.'* 

" The delegates labored under the delusion that the question was placed 
by their action in a position where it would settle itself, but upon the 
slumber of exhaustion of prostituted principle broke like a fire-bell in 
the night the ringing words of John Eandolph : ' I know there are 
gentlemen not only from the Northern but from the Southern States 
who think this unhappy question — for such it is — of negro slavery, 
which the Constitution has vainly tried to blink by not using the term, 
should never be brought to public notice, more especially that of Con- 
gress, and most especially here. Sir, with every due respect to the 
gentlemen who think so, I differ from them toio ccelo. Sir, it is a thing 
which cannot be hid ; it is not a dry-rot which you can cover with a 
carpet until the house tumbles about your ears ; you might as well try 
to hide a volcano in full operation ; it cannot be hid ; it is a cancer in 
your face, and must be treated secundum arlem ; it must not be tampered 
with by quacks who never saw the disease or the patient. 'f Brave, 
patriotic words. Compromise followed compromise — 1803, 1819, 1840, 
1844, 1850, 1856 — the old ulcer on the body politic deeper, the moral 
pulse of the nation grew feebler, but God was not asleep ; the cry of the 
bondman had reached His ear, the stench of human blood had offended 
His nostril. To-day along the mountains, vales, and valleys of the 
Sunny Southland the cold sod is heavy over the forms of the grandest, 
bravest men of the nation — boys who wore the blue, boys who wore the 



* Federalist, No. 42. f Garland's Life of Randolph. 



122 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

gray — whose blood was poured out as a libation upon the nation's altar 
to atone for an accursed compromise which might have at one time 
been stricken out with a pen. 

" In the reddest of American blood is written, 

" ' A question is never settled until it is settled right.' 

" That the question — what shall be the governmental policy in rela- 
tion to the alcoholic liquor traffic?— is one to which this principle 
applies, certainly, gentlemen, if you have studied the history and results 
of governmental action in the case, you cannot doubt. The drink sys- 
tem is not the product of our liberties, institutions, or civilizations — not 
an American institution. It is a mushroom from the dunghills of 
Europe, transplanted into our American soil by the lowest and most 
ignorant of foreign immigration. Its results here have been the same 
as in Europe — drunkenness, debauchery, vice, crime, riot, communism. 
In the rich soil and genial climate of our form of government it bore 
fruit early, and in 1786 the Government of Virginia found it necessary 
to protect her people from the multitude of evils resultant from the 
traffic and conditions favorable to its development. As increasing pop- 
ulation, seconded by wise statesmanship, has enlarged the nation's bor- 
ders, it has grown with our growth and increased with our strength ; 
only crippled where persistent prohibitory efforts have made the con- 
ditions for its development unfavorable. The evil has long been admit- 
ted by all parties, and a persistent effort to remedy it been carried on 
by a few. Compromise has followed compromise — unrestrained sale, 
license, high license, civil damage, local option — and I wish to assert, in 
the light of history, that all of these compromises have been failures to 
just the extent that principle has been sacrificed, and successes just to 
the extent that right has been recognized and prohibitory features incor- 
porated into their texts ; that the prohibitory, not the license features 
of these laws have been the disinfectants which have rendered it pos- 
sible for a civilized, intelligent people to endure them. Now, after years 
of waiting, years of trial, of license panaceas, regulation nostrums, and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 123 

restraint poultices, all of which have proved failures, the question pushes 
itself to the front and asserts : 

" It must be settled. 

" It must be settled right. 

" These propositions granted, the trial of the traffic and final action 
follow. 

" In entering upon this debatable ground, I wish you to fully under- 
stand my position to be : 

"First. This is not a personal matter between the drunkard-makers 
and the people of this country. Whether the drunkard-maker is a 
scoundrel or a gentleman weighs not an atom in settling the merits of 
the case. For the purposes of this investigation it matters not whether 
he is a devil or an angel of light. If he is an angel he cannot make a 
devilish principle a good one ; if he is a devil he cannot make a God- 
given principle a bad one. The question is, ' What is the cause of and 
remedy for the jgyils growing out of the drink traffic V If the whole 
brood of drunkard-makers in America could be hung to-morrow morn- 
ing, unless we could destroy the system that produced them, sear the 
neck of the license hydra with public opinion in the hands of Prohibi- 
tion Solons, another crop would spring up in three months. 

" Second. The American citizen, and especially you, gentlemen, as 
representatives of the people, must enter upon the investigation of this 
question, determined to examine fully all sides of it, and weigh carefully 
the arguments and investigate the alleged facts produced by the advo- 
cates who claim to represent these sides, and then, on the weight of evi- 
dence presented, base your action. Anything less would not be reason- 
able ; anything less would not be honest. In this investigation all men 
must be believed to be honest in their treatment of the question and of 
the views they hold, or seem to hold, in relation to it. Blackguardism, 
sneers, and reckless statements are out of place. And, gentlemen, I am 
forcibly impressed by the language of the talented, eloquent, and learned 
gentleman who preceded me on the other side, with the fact that a black- 



124 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

guard is as much out of place in the field of honest, manly discussion 
as a monkey would be in the tabernacle of the Lord. A man engaged in 
either intellectual or physical warfare never throws mud when he can 
use rocks ; and when an individual stoops to using mud in a discussion 
like this, it is prima facie evidence that his supply of the rocks of reason 
are exhausted, or, what is more probable, he never had a supply. The 
copious use of epithets, like fanatic, zealot, and visionary, is not argu- 
ment, but rather an indication of a cerebral vacuum in the head of the 
user. To think, geDtlemen, that you could be influenced by such terms 
is an insult to your intelligence, and the only extenuating feature of the 
argument is the appearance and language of the advocate, who evidently 
has no appreciation of a higher grade of intellect than his own. Such 
being the case, he is to be pitied rather than punished, and I hope, 
gentlemen, that his weakness may not prejudice you against his cause, 
but that the issue involved, not the intelligence of the advocates, may 
be tried. The temperance men have no use for the style of argument 
followed by the gentleman. They believe they are advocating correct 
principles, and that the facts and arguments upon which they base their 
line of action are so nearly self-evident that a presentation in a fair, 
gentlemanly way will convince thinking, intelligent people that their 
line of action is just and right. The temperance leaders believe the 
people are intelligent and fully capable of passing on any plan of gov- 
ernmental policy ; that the people are the court of last resort, and that 
all questions of this kind must be settled by them. In accordance with 
this idea they have gone to the people as to a jury, and presenting an 
indictment against the drink traffic and the facts on which it was found, 
have asked that the traffic be tried and a verdict rendered in accordance 
with the evidence. The object and purpose of their work they have 
never concealed. They purpose to bury the whole liquor system in the 
same way the Welsh woman said she would bury the devil, ' with his 
face down, so if he ever came to life the more he dug the deeper he got. ' 
This determination is not a hasty one, but a cool, deliberate purpose, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 125 

formed after an examination of all the facts in the case. The indict- 
ment is asked upon which this sweeping change is proposed. Let me 
dip my finger in the blood of some murdered man and write it on this 
wall, then make the letters indelible with the tears of his broken-hearted 
wife and child. Read : 

' ' First. From the day the liquor business was introduced into this 
country from Euroj)e, it has existed as a bitter, blighting, damning 
curse on everything decent, virtuous, and holy. Its record proves it the 
enemy of law, order, morality, Christianity, and civilization. 

" Second. The legalized liquor traffic is the cause of more than six 
sevenths of the pauperism and four fifths of the crime in the nation. 
The retail liquor-shops are the hotbeds where outlaws germinate, the 
cradles where crime is nursed. 

" Third. The liquor-drinking customs are the fountain-head of all that 
is vile, low, lecherous, and devilish in our large centres of population. 

" There is the indictment, gentlemen. The temperance men say it is 
true and can be proved. Bring the liquor traffic into the court of the 
people and let it plead, guilty or not guilty. The traffic will not be 
allowed to plead the baby act. The indictment is positive. The only 
question is, is it true or false ? A simple question of fact. All the 
liquor men have to do is to prove the indictment false, and the issue is 
settled in this country. If the indictment is false the temperance men 
are slanderers, maligners, and dangerous demagogues ; if it is true no 
sophistry can justify, no eloquence extenuate the black record of the 
traffic. 

"Will the liquor traffic come into court? Dare it meet the indict- 
ment ? No. The allegations cannot be refuted — they are true. At the 
commencement of the prohibitory campaign of 1880 in Nebraska, Dr. S. 
H. King, Chairman of the Prohibition Committee, in an open letter 
addressed to the drunkard-makers, said : * To give you a chance to meet 
the damning charges against your business, the temperance forces make 
the following offer : They will pay the expenses of halls, advertise the 



126 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

meeting, and furnish speakers to meet your speakers, and discuss these 
charges before the people of the State.' The answer of the drunkard- 
makers' chief was : ' We had rather give twenty thousand dollars to keep 
you from submitting the question to the people than to try to beat yon 
if yon succeed in getting it before them.' 

" Having thus examined the general features of the reform, and the 
intentions, methods, and purposes of the opposing hosts, let us now 
proceed to examine the question directly under consideration : 

" ' Shall the beer traffic be favored in the proposed prohibitory legis- 
lation ? ' 

" If you wish to dry np a river you must cut off its sources. If you 
wish to avoid an effect, you must remove the cause. This law of com- 
mon-sense should be applied to the question under consideration. I 
will not insult your intelligence by presuming there is need of demon- 
strating to you that the lesser alcoholic beverages, wine, beer, and cider, 
are the ABCof the drink custom, the steps by which youth descends 
into the highway of drunkenness. If there was need, this evening would 
not be long enough to examine the evidence which could be brought on 
this point. 

" The issnes I wish to raise are : 

" First. The German beer customs tend to the destruction of the 
Christian Sabbath. You say yon will take care of America without 
Sunday. You have not been able to keep her in order with Sunday. 
You say men cannot be made moral by legislation. They can be made 
immoral by the want of it, and the consequent presence of temptation. 
Yon say that the Parisian Sunday would be better for our productive 
work in the factories and other industries of the land than the New 
England Sunday. But I have heard that after a Continental Sunday 
comes a Continental blue Monday, and that it's very common in France 
and Germany, and even in England, among the lower class of oper- 
atives, for Monday to be an idle day on account of the necessity of 
recuperation after the dissipation of Sunday. Give ns a Parisian or 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 127 

Continental Sunday and our trade "Will have the Continental unproduc- 
tive Monday. 'Operatives are perfectly right,' said John Stuart Mill, 
* in thinking that if all work on Sunday, seven days' work would be 
given for six days' wages.' Manufacturers abroad often affirm that 
American operatives can well demand higher prices than the Continent- 
al, because they are not incapacitated for work on Monday by the 
effects of Sunday's dissipation. Only the Sunday rightly used makes 
Monday elastic. Coleridge said that God gives civilization, in its Sun- 
days, fifty-two springs a year. Infidel France, during her revolution, 
while opposing Christianity with merciless hatred, and abolishing the 
Christian calendar, yet made provision for a periodic day of rest, and 
enforced its observance by law. An enactment of 17 Thermidor, Aw. 
VI., required the public offices, schools, workshops, and stores to be 
closed, and prohibited _sales except for eatables and medicines, and 
public labor except in the country during seed-time and harvest. This 
action of a secularized, anti-Christian republic is sufficient reply to any 
who think Sunday laws are demanded only by the Christian prejudices 
of modern civilized nations. The French legislation required rest for 
tha population on only one day in ten, but it recognized emphatically 
the great natural law of periodicity in its application to labor and 
repose. 

" The black, far-flapping Gehenna wings of the French ^Revolution, 
moving through history as a bat through a parlor at night, and putting 
out the candles, left the taper of a legalized day of rest still shining.* 
The degradation of the Christian Sunday means the degradation of the 
laborer ; and in this government of the people, by the people, and for the 
people, gentlemen, you must realize that everything depends upon the 
intelligence and morality of the individual citizen — the government 
unit. The German beer customs demand the destruction of this day ; 
and, in cities where this element controls, they have accomplished their 



* Cook's Socialism, 239. 



128 TEE LIFE OF JOHN B, FINCH. 

purpose, and Sunday is the drunken gala day of the week. Gentlemen, 
no beer-guzzling, Sabbath -breaking people have ever been able to estab- 
lish a government that, for any length of time, retained even the sem- 
blance of liberty. Political institutions are the outgrowth of social cus- 
toms, not social customs the outgrowth of political institutions. Ameri- 
can liberty is the resultant of the morals and intelligence of the founders 
of this government, and it will disappear when the intelligence and mo- 
rality sink below that of the fathers. The German Government and 
despotism is the legitimate outgrowth of the German social system, and 
whenever Americans adopt the German system, we shall need and will 
have the German form of government to control it. 

" Second. The German beer customs tend to the destruction of the 
home life of the country. The keystone of the American civilization is 
the American home. I would, gentlemen, I could take you to the 
frontier, cattle, and mining towns of this country, where home life 
is comparatively unknown, and by ocular demonstration impress this 
fact upon your minds ; show you how the words mother and home 
have the power to awaken the latent manhood, and lead out to a 
grander and better life men far down in the scale of human degrada- 
tion. Gentlemen, we all realize bow great is this influence in public 
life. The opposition we meet makes us hard, uncharitable, cynical, 
and, when gone from home for months, bitter and selfish. We return 
to our homes, and hatred, selfishness, bitterness, cynicism, vanish. A 
man never goes from home with the kiss of wife upon his lips and the 
soft touch of baby fingers lingering in pleasant memories on his neck, 
but feels more charity for his fellow-men, more love for humanity, and 
a renewed zeal to build himself up in all that pertains to a good life. 
Home is the moral conservator of the nation — the antidote for commu- 
nism, socialism, riot, bloodshed ; and any institution or custom that 
tends to destroy the home life of this country is a terrible enemy to all 
our institutions. The gentleman on the other side has said, ' The whole 
family is taken to the beer-garden.' Gentlemen, his statement is but 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 129 

too true. The private associations of home life are superseded by the 
public associations of the beer-gardens, and the moral influences of 
private association with father and mother give way to the libidinous 
influences of public drinking, and the vilest immorality follows as an 
inevitable result. The whiskey saloon ruins the father — the beer-saloon 
ruins the father and debauches the mother and the daughter. Few 
women drink whiskey — many women drink beer. The rapid increase 
of drunkenness among the women of German-American cities is un- 
doubtedly the result of these customs. 

" The first effect is to degrade the parents, and, through them, their 
children. The influence of the parents upon the child can hardly be 
over-estimated. Dr. Sanger, resident physician of Blackwell's Island, 
N. Y., asked two thousand prostitutes the following questions : ' Did your 
father drink intoxicating liquors ? If so, to what extent ?' 

Did not drink liquor 548 

Drank moderately 636 

Drank intemperately 596 

Unascertained 220 

" ' Did your mother drink intoxicating liquors ? If so, to what extent ? 

Did not drink liquor 875 

Drank moderately 574 

Drank intemperately. 347 

Unascertained 204 

" The doctor, commenting on the answers, said : ' How much of the 
intemperate habit of these women may be traced to the parents' ex- 
ample ! One thousand four hundred and fifty-two fathers, one thou- 
sand one hundred and twenty-five mothers are represented as having 
been addicted to the use of liquors in various degrees, the moderate in 
both cases exceeding the intemperate drinkers. And yet, even moder- 
ate drinking, when pursued by parents in the presence of or to the 



130 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

knowledge of children, is a practice open to the gravest censure. In the 
mind of a child, any action is deemed right if performed by a father or 
mother. As the children advance in years parental customs are fol- 
lowed, and, in such a case as this, probably the single glass of beer or 
wine of the father lays the foundation of intemperance in the children. 
Without undertaking to argue the question of the absolute necessity for 
total abstinence from all liquors, under all circumstances, the proposi- 
tion may seriously be submitted that the effect of this personal example 
upon children is satisfactorily ascertained from many different sources 
to be prejudicial to their best interests, and a natural deduction, there- 
fore, is, that it is the duty of the parents to abstain. Instances are upon 
record where both fathers and mothers, in the temporary insanity of in- 
toxication, have turned their daughters from home into the streets.'* 

" Dr. Kuell, in his report on drunkenness, said : ' Undoubtedly, aban- 
doned females, who, from the earliest ages, now to an alarming extent, 
walk the streets and frequent beer-gardens and drink-shops, have a very 
large share in the corruption of both sexes. I do not believe that the 
mass of prostitution which exists has arisen at first from drunkenness in 
the females themselves, but from drunkenness and other bad habits on 
the part of parents, who neglect to exercise proper care in the training 
and education of their children, who, by such neglect, are exposed to 
the great temptations of this metropolis, and these, by drunkenness and 
hopelessness, are confirmed in the vice.' 

" Mr. Broughton, Magistrate of Worship, street police, London, Eng- 
land, in an examination before a committee of Parliament, testified : ' I 
have seen the dreadful effects where the mother takes to drinking. If 
the father takes to drinking, it is more likely to be at night ; at all events, 
he is at work in the day. But when the mother takes to drinking, she 
drinks in the day, and the children are left to beat about among the low 
beer-shops, and if the girls are good-looking and smart they are picked 



* History of Prostitution, 544. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 131 

up and become prostitutes, and the boys are picked up by thieves and 
instructed as young thieves. I will mention a case to show how it 
operates. A verj r decent man, a mechanic, waited upon me to ask my 
advice as to what he should do. He said, " I have two daughters ; one is 
not quite sixteen, and the other is fourteen years of age. My wife has 
taken to the habit of drinking, and all my Sunday clothes, my tools, 
and everything she can get hold of goes to the pawn-shop. I have re- 
deemed them a hundred times. What am I to do ? My home is sur- 
rounded by beer-shops. I am obliged to go to my work or my family 
would starve, and here my daughters are left wholly unprotected." I 
gave him the best advice I could, and he went away. He returned to 
me a day or two afterward with those two daughters ; led them into the 
office, and addressing me on the bench, said : " What am I to do, your 
worship ? At this moment the mother of these two children is lying on 
the bed beastly drunk." The consequence to these girls was inevitable. 
Nothing but America could rescue them from becoming prostitutes.' 

" Gentlemen, I can see that you draw back with horror as the reality 
of this traffic is revealed. Did not the necessities of the case demand, 
I would not ask you to pursue this painful subject. But the love of 
wife, mother, and daughter, and the solicitude for their safety caused 
by that love, I am sure will nerve you to the task of listening while I call 
witnesses to make the damnable results of the beer traffic still more 
apparent. Gentlemen, can you imagine a father so lost to all manhood 
and decency as to sell the virtue of his own daughter? Listen to this 
English evidence. 

" Mr. Paynder, before a committee of Parliament, testified : ' The ruin 
of multitudes of females for life takes place at so early an age as is 
perfectly shocking to humanity. In most of such cases I have found the 
parents to be the tempters and destroyers of their own children ; in- 
deed, it is almost impossible that without their connivance and consent 
their children could become abandoned and depraved at so early an 
age ; and there is little hope of effecting an alteration in this lamentable 



132 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

vice so long as parents are rendered insensible to tbeir children's in- 
terests by their own addiction to drinking.' 

" The prison reports of England offer many instances in which girls 
under twelve and thirteen years of age have been forced into the streets 
in order to supply a brutalized parent with drink.* 

" Mrs. Eobson, the matron of the Newcastle, England, penitentiary, 
says : ' Prostitution greatly proceeds from the bad example of parents 
arising from their intemperance, causing them to neglect both the educa- 
tion and comfort of their families, leaving them the sport of every evil 
influence. An illustration out of the many might be given : M. J., 
fourteen years of age, was in this asylum. When she was brought here 
she was much bruised about the body by the ill-treatment of her mother, 
who was a cruel, drunken woman, who used to send her daughter into 
the street every Saturday, stating she must not return with less than five 
shillings. She did not care how she got it, whether by theft or prosti- 
tution. ' 

" I am aware, gentlemen, that the advocates of beer will claim that 
this debauchery cannot be attributed to any one kind of liquor. But I 
maintain that the beer-saloon and garden, by destroying home life, re- 
move the children from home influences and prevent their moral devel- 
opment. The facts sustain the position. The following table of nation- 
ality of inmates is taken from the annual report of the Wisconsin reform 
school for 1878 : 

American 27 

German 51 

Irish 26 

English 18 

Canadian 3 

French 6 

Scotch 2 



* Worsley's Essay on Juvenile Depravity. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 133 

Indian 1 

Bohemian 6 

Belgian 1 

Danish 1 

Norwegian 5 

Welsh 1 

Colored 3 

" It will be observed that beer-drinking nationalities figure most con- 
spicuously in the list. This difference is more apparent when it is 
known they constitute a minority of the population of Wisconsin. That 
a minority of the population furnish a majority of the vicious children 
is a significant fact. 

" In order to understand more fully the cause of the degrading influ- 
ence of the beer-saloon and garden, let us now examine closely the 
nature of the institution itself. Dr. Sanger, the best American author- 
ity, says of these institutions in New York City : ' These beer-houses are 
generally kept by Germans, who consider dancing a proper and legiti- 
mate business. They are in general very quiet. The girls employed to 
dance do not consider themselves prostitutes, because the proprietors 
will not allow them to be known as such. Each girl receives monthly 
from five to six dollars and her board, and almost every one of them 
hires a room in the neighborhood for the purpose of prostitution. I 
have classed them all as prostitutes, because, in addition to the previous 
fact, I know that a majority of them have lived as such. Very few of 
these girls are excessive drinkers. Although the regulations of the ball- 
room require them to drink after each dance with their partners, yet the 
proprietor has always a bottle of water, slightly colored with port 
wine, from which they drink, and he charges the same price as for 
liquor. 

" * The Society for the Protection of the Friendless in England in- 
forms us that in England and Wales there are 2123 public houses and 
2034 beer-shops used as brothels. In Newcastle-on-Tyne there are 



134 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

29 beer-shops where rooms are kept for 33 women of loose char- 
acter.' 

" Mr. "Wayland, in testifying before a committee of Parliament, says : 
' One woman who has kept twenty-six bad houses told me that if the 
beer-shops were closed early she would have to close some of her 
houses. The women that I have placed in reformatory institutions tell 
me that their best time is when men are excited by drink ; they come 
out of drinking-places at eleven, twelve, or one o'clock at night, and 
during these hours prostitutes have more command over the men than 
at any other time.' 

" Mr. Clay, M.P., makes the following note respecting Blackburn, 
England : ' Several of these beer-sellers no longer keep girls in their 
own houses, though, to avoid the penalty for so doing, they multiply the 
actual mischief by establishing auxiliary brothels immediately behind 
or adjoining the premises. The beer-sellers furnish these evil dens, 
place a man or woman in charge of them, and maintain them, in short, 
as a means of increasing the sale of liquor.' 

" Mr. Logan, author of ' The Moral Statistics of Glasgow, Scotland,' 
says : * I have stated one fourth of these girls have been servants in inns 
and beer-shops, where they were seduced by persons frequenting those 
places. Often have the poor girls said to me, while tears trickled down 
their pallid cheeks, " Ah, sir, we could never go into our miserable 
course were it not for intoxicating liquors ! It is the last thing at night 
and the first thing in the morning." ' 

" "W. "W. Gunnison, of Buffalo, N. Y., wrote of the beer-shops in that 
city as follows : ' Certain practices, resorted to in beer-saloons, must be 
mentioned in order to show what demoralizing agencies are added to 
those already existing in them — viz., the keeping of prostitutes. From 
official authority I have received statements which leave no doubt of the 
extent to which this profligate system is carried on — eighteen saloons in 
one ward harboring or maintaining fifty -four prostitutes. But this is not 
the full extent of the evil. The neighborhood of these saloons is cor- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 135 

rupt. Women — married women— occupied to all appearances with their 
proper avocations at home, hold themselves at the call of the beer- 
saloons for immoral purposes.' 

" Judge M. D. Bartlett, of Eau Claire, Wis., one of the first lawyers of 
the Northwest, in a recent conversation said to me : ' The only houses 
of prostitution known in the city are run as beer-shops. All other causes 
combined do not make as many prostitutes as the beer-saloons and beer- 
gardens. Several cases have come under my observation as a lawyer 
where girls have been stimulated with beer, and ruined in a beer-garden, 
while their parents were sitting at a table in the same garden, not sus- 
pecting the terrible crime being committed against the daughters. I 
have come to regard beer-gardens as gardens for the propagation of this 
terrible vice.' 

" The Chicago Times in 1878, in an article on the large number of 
illegitimate births among the German and Bohemian population, headed 
the article, ' Fruit of the Beer Picnics.' 

" Gentlemen, if I have succeeded in establishing the character and 
results of beer-selling and beer-drinking, a philosophical mind then 
naturally turns and looks for the cause of the degrading influences of 
these institutions and customs. This will lead us into a physiological 
investigation of the action of alcoholic stimulants upon the mind of the 
user. The experience is overwhelming in favor of the observation that 
the use of alcoholic stimulants paralyzes the reasoning power, makes 
weak men and women the easy prey of the wicked and strong, and leads 
men and women, who should know better, into every grade of misery 
and vice. It is not poor, repenting Cassio alone who cries out in agony 
of despair, ' Oh, that a man should put an enemy in his mouth to steal 
away his brains ! ' It is thousands upon thousands of Cassios who say 
the same thought, if not the same words, every day, every hour. I 
doubt, indeed, whether there is a single man or woman who indulges, 
or who has indulged in alcohol, who could not truthfully say the same ; 
who could not wish that something he had unreasonably said or ex- 



136 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

pressed, under the excitement from alcohol, had not been given forth. 
If, then, alcohol enfeebles the reason, what part of the mental constitu- 
tion does it exalt? It exalts and excites those animal, organic, and 
emotional centres of the mind, which, in the dual nature of man, so 
often cross and oppose that pure and abstract reasoning of nature which 
lifts man above the lower animals, and, rightly exercised, to a plane 
little lower than the angels. Exciting these animal centres, it lets loose 
all the passions, and gives them more or less unlicensed domination 
over the whole man. And if I were to take you through all the passions 
that remain to be named — lust, hate, envy, avarice, and pride — I should 
but show you that alcohol ministers to them all ; that, paralyzing the 
reason, it takes from off these passions that fine adjustment which places 
man above the lower animals. The demonstrative evidence of alcohol 
in its influence on the mind is, then, most clear. From the beginning to 
the end of its influence, it subdues reason and sets free passion. The 
analogies, physical and mental, are perfect. That which loosens the 
tension of the vessels which feed the body with due order of precision, 
and thereby lets loose the heart to violent excess of unbridled emotion, 
loosens also the reason, and lets loose the passions. In both instances 
the heart and head are for a time out of harmony — their balance broken. 
The man descends closer and closer to the brute ; from the angels he 
glides farther and farther away.* 

' ' "What better agent could a villain have to prepare for him and assist 
him in his work ? Certainly not a property or effect is wanting to make 
it the devil' s agent to ruin the young, fair, and virtuous of our land. 
But it must be remembered that a majority of the young girls whose 
ruin is attempted have never used alcoholic liquors, and it would be 
useless to attempt to induce them to drink whiskey or ardent spirits. 
' Cool lager,' ' creamy ale,' and wine — which contain the alcoholic spirit 
in diluted form — are the kinds of liquors especially fitted for this use. 



* Alcohol on Body and Mind — Richardson. 



THE LIFE OF' JOHN B. FINCH. 137 

The amount of alcohol contained is amply sufficient : lager beer con- 
tains from 4.1 to 6.65 per cent by volume, and 5.05 to 8.15 per cent by 
weight ; ale contains from 4.68 to 9.05 per cent by weight. In these 
lesser alcoholics the alcohol is so completely concealed by the other 
compounds of the liquor that the victim drinks it unconsciously, and 
while under its influence is ruined. 

' ' ' When a woman drinks she is lost. ' It will be conceded that the 
habit of intoxication in woman is not an indication of the existence of 
actual depravity or vice, but is a sure precursor of it, for drunkenness 
and debauchery are inseparable companions — one almost invariably fol- 
lowing the other. In some cases a woman living in service becomes a 
drunkard ; she forms acquaintances amoDg the depraved of her own sex, 
and willingly joins their ranks. Married women acquire the habits of 
drinking, and forsake their husbands and families, to gratify not so 
much their sexual appetite as their passion for liquor. Young women 
are often persuaded to take one or two glasses of liquor, and then their 
ruin may be soon expected. Others are induced to drink liquor into 
which a narcotic has been infused, to render them insensible to their 
ruin. In short, it is scarcely possible to enumerate the many tempta- 
tions which can be employed when intoxicating drinks are used as an 
agent.* 

" One of the most common methods of seduction, employed by liber- 
tines of cities and larger towns, is to invite the victim to a supper at a 
restaurant, or in other words a low brothel ; where, by sneers or persua- 
sions, she is frightened or induced into drinking. The Chicago Inter- 
Ocean, in its issue of July 1st, 1878, on the murder of Mrs. Mamie Ste- 
vens, in that city, by her husband, refers to this practice in the follow- 
ing ringing words : *■ There is another class, for which decent humanity 
can have nothing but the deepest contempt. Nothing like honor or 
sentiment is connected with them. All is low, grovelling, and brutish. 



* History of Prostitution, 497. 



138 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

The human hyena, known as the " masher," prominent at matinees and 
particularly observable in front of saloons, is a beast well known in 
Chicago. He watches for a word, a look, or the slightest intimation that 
his presence will be tolerated by a decently dressed woman. If he can 
gain the acquaintance of some outwardly respectable married woman, 
and then, when the latter is accompanied by a really innocent female 
companion, present himself and make the second acquaintance, he is 
overjoyed. He will spend his time from that hour in an effort to entrap 
the inexperienced one ; and it shall go ill with him indeed if, sooner or 
later, he does not succeed. Many a young woman, really innocent of 
any intent to do wrong, but foolishly flattered, has been enticed into 
one of a thousand places in Chicago, dignified by the name of restau- 
rant, and there, fearful of the disgrace of an outcry, practically com- 
pelled to suffer insult and wrong at the hands of a two-legged brute, 
who deserves to be shot in his tracks. Hundreds of women and girls in 
humble life, to whom a wine dinner in a restaurant was a novelty to be 
wondered at and coveted, have a reason to curse the day and the hour 
when their curiosity and indiscretion led them to accept such attentions 
from the scoundrels who have led them to ruin. The proprietors of 
these beer and wine restaurants are nearly all accomplices of these devils 
in human form.' 

" I don't wish to assert, gentlemen, that every woman who drinks 
wine and beer will lose her virtue, but I do wish to assert that no woman 
under the influence of wine and beer can resist the advances of the 
brute who seeks her ruin. Such is the testimony of every author who 
has ever investigated or written upon the social evil. 

" The evidence already offered points to the inevitable result of beer- 
drinking and beer-selling— debauchery in public and private life in this 
country. Such has been the result in Germany. A celebrated German 
author, by the name of Sass, in a work entitled ' Berlin, ' says of public 
life in that city : 

" ' No city in Germany can boast the splendid ball-rooms of Berlin. 



TEE LIFE OF JOIIN B. FINCH. 139 

One in particular, near the Brandenburgh gate and the parade ground, 
is remarkable for its size, and presents a magnificent exterior when hun- 
dreds of lamps stream through the windows, and light up the park in 
front. The interior is of corresponding splendor, and when the vast 
hall resounds with the music of the grand orchestra, and is filled with a 
gay crowd, rustling in silks or satins, or lounging in the hall, or whirl- 
ing in the giddy waltz, it is certainly a scene to intoxicate the youth 
who frequent it in search of adventure or to drink in the poison of 
seductive and deceiving, although bright and fascinating, eyes. Should 
the foreigner visit this scene on one of its gay nights, he may get a 
glimpse at the depth of Berlin life. Many a veil is lifted here. This 
splendid scene has its dark side. This whirling, laughing crowd is friv- 
olous Berlin, whether of wealth, extravagance, and folly, or of poverty, 
vice, and necessity. The prostitute and swindler are on every side. 
Formerly the female visitors were of good repute, but gradually courte- 
sans and women of light character slipped in, until at length no lady 
could be seen there. And the aforesaid foreigner, who lounges through 
the rooms, admiring the elegant and lovely women who surround him, 
in charge of some highly respectable elderly person — an aunt, or a chap- 
erone, or possibly in company with her newly -married husband — seeks 
to know the name of such evident celebrity and fashion. " Do you not 
know her? Any police officer can tell you her history." There is a 
class of men at this place who perform a function singular to the unin- 
itiated. These worthies are the " husbands" of the before-mentioned 
ladies. They play the careless or strict cavalier ; are Bluebeards on 
occasion ; appear, or keep out of sight, according to the necessities of 
the moment.' 

" The same author gives the following horrid picture of private life 
in the same city : ' Let us enter the house. The first floor is inhabited 
by a family of distinction ; husband and wife have been separated for 
years ; he lives on one side, she on the other ; both go out in public 
together ; the proprieties are kept in view, but servants will chatter. 



140 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

On the second floor lives an assessor, with his kept woman. When he 
is out of town, as the house is well aware, a doctor pays her a visit. On 
the other side of the staircase lives a carrier, with his wife and child. 
The wife had not mentioned that this child was born before marriage ; 
he found it out ; of course they quarrelled, and he now takes his revenge 
in drunkenness, blows, and abuse. We ascend to the third floor : on 
the right side of the stairs is a teacher, who has had a child by his wife's 
sister ; the wife grieves sorely over the same. With him lodges a house 
painter, who ran away from his wife and three children, and now lives 
with his concubine and one child in a wretched little cupboard. On 
the left is a letter-carrier's family. His pay is fifteen thalers a month, 
but the people seem very comfortable. Their daughter has a nice front 
room, well furnished, and is kept by a very wealthy merchant — a mar- 
ried man. Exactly opposite there is a house of accommodation, and 
close by there is a midwife, whose signboard announces, " An institute 
for ladies of condition, where they can go through their confinement in 
retirement." I can assure the reader that in this sketch of sexual and 
family life in Berlin I have nothing extenuated nor set down aught in 
malice.' 

" Germany, in 1851, passed laws permitting and licensing prostitu- 
tion ; and I submit for your examination this damnable code, which is 
too long for me to read. Such is the result of the beer customs. 

" Gentlemen, that is my case against the beer traffic. Take it, and as 
a jury bound by the most sacred obligations — your honor — the trust of 
your constituents — pass upon the evidence and arguments presented. 
In the examination of the evidence, you will, of course, apply the ordi- 
nary rules of the courts. Hearsay and mere assertion are entitled to no 
standing. Facts and figures, presented by witnesses who speak of their 
own knowledge, must settle the question. I have not introduced before 
you a witness not competent in a court of justice. They are competent 
witnesses, and when compared with the utter absence of witnesses on 
the other side, their calm, dispassionate testimony, based on their own 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 141 

observation and experience, must outweigh the reckless, bombastic, and 
wholly unsupported statements of the beer advocates. 

11 The temperance men indict the old criminal trade ; the drunkard- 
makers endeavor to bribe the legislative grand jury, hoping thereby to 
prevent the submitting of the indictment to the petit jury — the people. 

" Such, gentlemen, is the evidence in the case, and such, I am sure, 
will be your finding. The evidence in regard to the three other counts 
is not contradicted, and no evidence is brought to explain or extenuate. 
The evidence is all one way : The beer traffic is guilty of all the counts 
in the indictment, and, gentlemen, I have no doubt in regard to the 
character of your verdict. 

11 When you shall have settled so much of the question, your further 
action will, of course, be in accord with your finding. To you, then, 
we submit our indictment, and oppose their demands ; to our evidence, 
they only answer with blackguardism and unsupported assertions. We 
have established our case by proofs uncontradicted and undeniable, and 
we ask you, citizen representatives, by virtue of the power vested in 
you, to stay this foul curse. Prayers, tears, and persuasion have been 
tried ; but the lecherous, licentious, shameless traffic still pursues the 
youth, beauty, and virtue of the land. 

" Richelieu, the French cardinal, whose niece was pursued by like 
bold and shameless enemies, after trying all other remedies, plucked 
from his vest a cross, and, drawing the circle of the Church of Rome 
around her, hurled in their faces the defiance : 
" Mark where she stands ! 

Around her form I draw the awful circle of our solemn church ; 

Step but a foot within that holy ground, 

And on thy head— yea, though it wore a crown— 

I launch the curse of Rome ! 

" Gentlemen, all other remedies have failed. We ask you to draw the 
protecting circle of law around the loved ones and the homes of this 
land, and thereby say to this ' black death, ' ' Thou shalt not cross these 
thresholds.' " 



CHAPTER VII. 

JOINT DEBATES. 

Whatever sceptic could inquire for, 
For every why he had a wherefore. 

Butler. 

*1V /f~E. FINCH possessed in an eminent degree all the 
-L-^-L qualifications necessary for a successful debater. He 
was master of his subject. Not only did he read everything 
in the range of temperance literature, books, pamphlets, 
leaflets, and periodicals, but the general newspaper press 
was laid under contribution to furnish facts for his use. 
Nothing directly or indirectly related to the question 
escaped his notice. A friend would sometimes ask him if 
he had seen a certain item or comment hidden away in an 
obscure corner of some daily newspaper. Almost invari- 
ably he proved, by a recital of the facts, that he had not 
only read the matter in question, but had obtained fuller 
information concerning it than had his questioner. 

It was a source of constant wonder to his friends when, 
where, and how he so carefully perused the daily papers. 
At the hotels which were made headquarters when State or 
national gatherings of temperance people convened, they 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 143 

would find him, at an early hour in the morning, in the 
parlors conversing or waiting to accompany them to break- 
fast. On the way to the dining-room they would purchase 
morning papers, glancing at them when seated at the table 
waiting for their orders to be filled. One friend would 
perhaps look up from his Tribune, saying : 

" Finch, the Tribune claims that the entire Democracy 
is in favor of free trade." 

" Oh, no," Mr. Finch would reply ; " you have not read 
the whole of that editorial. You will notice that several 
Congressional districts are especially exempted from that 
sweeping assertion." 

The reader would turn back to his paper and find that 
Mr. Finch was right. 

Another friend, throwing down his Ti?nes, might ex- 
claim : 

u These whiskey dailies are contemptible. The Times 
calls our convention a ' Gathering of Geese.' " 

" Oh, well, never mind," Mr. Finch would say with a 
laugh ; " if you will read on, you will find in the same col- 
umn some very complimentary references to the men and 
women who compose it." 

" The Herald is a little meaner to us than ever," de- 
clares a third member of the breakfast party. " It attacks 
Neal Dow this morning." 

" Oh, no, it does not," answers Mr. Finch. 

" Yes, it does. I have just read it," persists the other. 



144 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" You mistake. Kead again. The Herald defends Mr. 
Dow this time." 

The offensive words prove to be a quotation, and the 
editorial entirely different in its tone from what the reader 
of the Herald had supposed. 

Before his friends had left their rooms Mr. Finch had 
evidently read carefully and extensively in all the leading 
dailies published in the city. -Such occurrences were so 
frequent that no doubt hundreds of men who knew Mr. 
Finch intimately will recall similar scenes. 

This wonderful faculty for rapid absorption of current 
facts gave him great advantage in discussion. 

Another very valuable qualification was his quick percep- 
tion of his adversary's position and the strong and weak 
points of the defence. Sophistry could not blind him, no 
matter how consummately it was woven, and falsehood 
rarely deceived him. 

But his greatest power as a debater lay in the celerity 
w T ith which he could formulate his attack and defence 
while the discussion was in progress. He possessed a 
vast fund of information, which was so systematically 
arranged in his mind that he could recall, almost without 
effort, the facts most cogent in their bearing upon the 
questions at issue, and fit them so nicely into his chain of 
reasoning, that they appeared to have been wrought and 
forged and welded weeks before in the workshop of his 
brain. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 145 

The Marblehead (Massachusetts) Messenger describes his 
peculiar gifts : 

" John B. Finch was a rare combination of sweetness and strength. 
Not so much an orator as a logician, he combined the power of convinc- 
ing men's judgment and winning their sympathy all at once. His lumi 
nous smile melted opposition. His withering scorn tore away sophistry. 
His keen analysis revealed fact and annihilated humbug and falsehood. 
He did not depend so much on stirring the emotions as upon gaining 
his hearers' assent, and then leading them on step by step to the serene 
heights of truth and duty." 

Our Field, of Richmond, Ya., said : 

" John B. Finch was one of the greatest statesmen of this day ; as an 
orator we have never heard his equal ; clear, logical, convincing, he 
defied successful contradiction. His head was the storehouse of facts, 
figures, and arguments innumerable. He was a most indefatigable 
worker." 

Hon. Samuel D. Hastings, ex- State Treasurer of Wis- 
consin, attests his singular strength and power as a debater : 

" A great orator is one who, in the use of elevated and forcible 
thought, well-chosen language, easy and effective utterance, and impas- 
sioned manner, interests his hearers and influences their action. John 
B. Finch was pre-eminently such an orator. As a debater he had few 
equals. He was thoroughly equipped at all points. He never allowed 
himself to be taken unawares. Although not an expert anatomist or 
physiologist, he had made himself sufficiently master of anatomy, physi- 
ology, and hygiene to be able to meet and successfully answer the argu- 
ments of those who claimed that alcohol is, in any true sense, a food or 
is ever beneficial to man in health. Although not a lawyer of extensive 
practice, he was sufficiently read in the standard legal works of the ablest 



146 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

writers on legal jurisprudence to be able to meet and overthrow the 
arguments of the ablest lawyers and the most learned judges who op- 
posed prohibition on legal or constitutional grounds. Although not a 
professed theologian, he was sufficiently acquainted with the great facts 
of the Bible and with the great principles of Christianity to make it 
hazardous for any bishop, doctor of divinity, or lesser light, however 
learned he might be, to attempt to array the facts of the Bible or tho 
principles of the Christian religion against the temperance reform. 

' ' Although he had never occupied high civil positions, no one was 
more familiar with our country's history, no one more fully understood 
the great problems that are now agitating the public mind and had 
clearer views as to how these problems should be solved, and no one 
could present in a clearer, stronger light than he the advantages that 
would result to the entire nation from the overthrow of the liquor traffic. 

" There was no one in all the land, however distinguished as a physi- 
cian, however learned as a lawyer or a judge, however celebrated as a 
bishop or a doctor of divinity, however high in official position, or emi- 
nent as a statesman that Mr. Finch was not able and willing to meet in 
the discussion of any question connected with any phase of the temper- 
ance reform. 

" If the principles of the reform or the right and duty of prohibition 
were attacked by any one whose position or talents rendered the attack 
liable to prove an obstacle in the way of the onward progress of the 
cause, John B. Finch was the one to whom almost every one looked to 
meet the attack, and they never looked in vain— he always responded 
and always proved himself equal to the emergency." 

The Prohibitionists of Nebraska were not slow to recog- 
nize his ability to meet and vanquish foes of the reform in 
public discussion. For a long time they looked in vain for 
a prominent antagonist who would meet Mr. Finch and 
debate the question of ' ' Prohibition versus License.' ' 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 147 

A joint debate was at length arranged to take place at 
the Opera House in Lincoln, January 23d, 1879. George 
L. Miller, editor of the Omaha Herald, appeared in de- 
fence of the license system. Unlike many of the men who 
publicly espouse that side of the question, Mr. Miller was 
an educated gentleman, who was disposed to meet Mr. Finch 
in the arena of discussion in a spirit of fairness and tolera- 
tion. When the debate closed the friends of prohibition 
were jubilant, and determined to arrange as many as possible 
of similar contests. This debate occurred during the ses- 
sion of the Legislature, and was largely attended by mem- 
bers, as were several meetings addressed by Mr. Finch on 
the evenings following. It was hoped that these clear, 
convincing, and statesmanlike expositions of the functions 
and duty of government would influence legislators to adopt 
a prohibitory law or submit a prohibitory amendment. 
But, as is too frequently the case, fear of ' ' hurting the 
party ' ' was a more potential influence than the convictions 
of conscience, and every temperance measure introduced at 
that session of the Legislature failed to secure the number 
of votes required to make it a law. 

Mr. Miller was not embittered against Mr. Finch because 
they met in the arena of discussion, where each earnestly 
advocated his views. Mr. Miller's estimate of his character 
was very high, as the following letter recently written by 
him indicates : 

" Although I have been among the most pronounced opponents of the 



148 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

views of Mr. Finch upon the important question of prohibition, as the 
' editor of the Omaha Herald, and occasionally upon the narrower theatre 
of the public platform, once only in joint debate, I long since learned to 
have great respect for his character as a man, for the sincerity and 
strength of his convictions, and for his abilities as an orator of marked 
power. But it was also as an organizer of opinion that he proved his 
fitness for leadership, and in this field of labor he was the peer of any 
man with whom I am acquainted. 

" I regard the death of John B. Finch as a personal loss. I had 
known him long and intimately. His was a genial and generous spirit. 
I had predicted for him a brilliant career long before he achieved it." 

The next joint discussion occurred in Omaha. Hon. I. 
S. Hascall, a prominent lawyer of that city, appeared in 
defence of license and in opposition to Mr. Finch. Mr. 
Hascall was considered a strong antagonist, and the liquor 
men expected he would win. Their confidence was mis- 
placed ; their advocate could not cope with Mr. Finch's 
clear reasoning and invincible logic. 

The sympathies of the entire city press were with Mr. 
Hascall, but the newspapers were forced to admit that the 
license cause was badly defeated in the contest. 

At the great Bismarck Grove prohibition camp-meeting 
in Kansas, while the amendment was pending, Mr. Finch 
made several addresses to large audiences. 

Ex-Governor Robinson, who had been writing and speak- 
ing against the adoption of the amendment, from the date 
of its submission, had expressed a desire to make one speech 
at the camp-meeting. The managers consented, and he 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 149 

selected Sunday afternoon at two o'clock, an hour when 
the vast auditorium was certain to be filled, as the hour for 
his anti-prohibition address. This point was also conceded, 
with the understanding that after he had finished the man- 
agers would call out a prohibition speaker to answer him. 

The day came with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze 
— a perfect summer day. From the city of Lawrence and 
from all the surrounding country, people came to the Grove 
by thousands. Governor Robinson was visibly nervous as 
he looked into the faces in the great assemblage. He made 
the same plea that the opposers of prohibition continually 
raise : " It cannot be enforced," dodging all other points 
at issue. 

Mr. Finch replied, analyzing the principles on which a 
nation's laws must rest and the social needs out of which 
governments rise. Following this line of thought, he 
proved the necessity of prohibition of the liquor traffic in 
order to secure the just ends of government, and then 
argued that civilization will overcome all the impediments 
to its onward march, as it has already broken down the 
barriers of barbarism that impeded its early progress. 

The address was logical, its conclusions irresistible. 
Governor Robinson, though not yielding his position, did 
not avail himself of the opportunity to reply which was 
offered him. 

George E. Foster, Minister of Marine aad Fisheries of 
the Dominion of Canada, a gentleman of rare accomplish- 



150 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

ments as a writer and speaker, pays this tribute to Mr. 
Finch's genius : 

" I first heard John B. Finch at Bismarck Camp Ground, Kansas, and 
was at once taken with his earnest manliness, his frank speech, his keen 
powers of debate, and the variety of his resources. Since then I have 
followed with deep interest his wonderful career, so consistent, so tri- 
umphant, and so phenomenal, as he made his way through the front 
ranks of moral reforms up to the proud eminence from which God called 
him. 

"His excellence lay in the simple directness with which he gave forth 
from his rich reserve of many-sided thought what was selected with 
rare aptness and marshalled with still rarer accuracy of reasoning and 
logical skill. He had a clear perception of the true relations of law and 
suasion, and was equally skilled in the discussion of each. Born with 
the powers of a leader, his was the merit of developing them with rare 
diligence and supporting them with a strong and spotless character. 
His followers could love as well as admire him. His life here was full 
of help and hope ; now that it has been translated, it has become a 
glorified inspiration. 

" Farewell, strong, faithful, and true soul." 

The fall campaign of 1880 in Nebraska was conducted, 
on the part of the temperance people, on the issue of secur- 
ing a Legislature that would submit a prohibitory amend- 
ment to the State Constitution. The attempt was made 
wholly within old party lines, no independent candidates 
having been nominated, even in the legislative districts 
where no reliable temperance men were placed on the 
Democratic or Republican tickets. 

Mr. Finch was in the front of the battle in these active 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 151 

autumn months. He notified his friends that he would be 
glad to meet in joint discussion any candidate, or any sup- 
porter of a candidate who opposed submission. Yery few 
such opportunities were afforded him. 

After election he suggested to Dr. S. H. King, Secretary 
of the Prohibition Amendment State Committee, the 
wisdom of issuing a challenge to the liquor men of the 
State to furnish a champion who should meet some repre- 
sentative of the temperance people in public discussion of 
the amendment issue, Mr. Finch agreeing to meet any man 
the liquor interest might select. 

The challenge was issued, and some time afterward Dr. 
King sent the following letter, which appeared in the col- 
umns of the Lincoln Daily Globe : 

" Editors Globe : Having ascertained that the men engaged in the 
manufacture of drunkards, paupers, and criminals were raising money 
to put into the campaign this winter, I addressed the challenge I enclose 
to them on December 8th, 1880. In the face of all the evidence of past 
years, I preferred to believe the saloon-keepers of the State to be honest 
men who were raising money to be used in an honest campaign in which 
the beauties of the license system and its works should be explained to 
the people. The saloon-keepers, brewers, and distillers have always 
called the temperance men fanatics and fools, and I supposed the money 
raised was to be used to carry on a campaign as respectable, decent men 
carry a campaign, in which these claimed errors and blunders of temper- 
ance should be exposed. With these ideas prompting, the challenge 
was issued, the indictment of the business and license system made in 
plain, positive terms, and the liquor men invited into the court of the 
people to plead. Weeks have passed, and not a word has come from 



152 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

their committees, and now they come quietly into Lincoln under an as- 
sumed name, an alias, and hold what they think are secret meetings in 
unknown places. 

" What does this mean ? Is this old criminal traffic here to try and 
compound a felony with the court of the people ? The fact is well 
known that they have not raised as much money as they expected, but 
what are they going to do with what they have raised if not make an 
honest, intelligent, civilized, manly defence before the people? The 
question the people address to the liquor traffic is simply : ' Are you 
guilty or not guilty of the horrid crimes for which you stand indicted ? ' 
The following is the indictment they dare not meet. 

"S. H. King." 

CHALLENGE TO JOINT DEBATE. 

" To the Distillers, Brewers, and Saloon- Keepers of Nebraska : 

"The temperance people of the State have fearlessly indicted your 
business in the strongest terms, as being opposed to the best interests 
of the people, morally, socially, politically, and financially, and are con- 
scientiously laboring to overthrow it by legal prohibition, and thereby 
prevent the terrible evils which flow from it. The temperance forces 
make no war against you as men, but the traffic which you represent 
will be fought as long as it raises its hydra head. This question must be 
settled, and blackguardism, buying votes, and seeking to corrupt or 
bulldoze the Legislature will not protect you. Your traffic is on trial 
before the grandest jury of a republic — the people — and by them it must 
be acquitted or condemned. To give you a chance to meet the damning 
charges against your business, the temperance force make the following 
offer : 

' ' They will pay the expense of halls, advertise the meetings, and fur- 
nish speakers to meet your speakers for twenty consecutive nights in 
leading cities of the State— to wit : Omaha, Lincoln, Nebraska City, 
Plattsmouth, Fremont, Brownville, Falls City, Pawnee City, Tecumseh, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 153 

Beatrice, Crete, Hastings, Kearney, Columbus, Grand Island, Fairmont, 
Sutton, York, Aurora, and Ashland, commencing December 15th, and 
discussing the following propositions : 

". First. The traffic in and use of alcoholic drinks in this State pro- 
motes crime and pauperism and indolence, political corruption and 
fraud ; necessitates the maintenance of a large police force in cities and 
towns, and the supporting of jails and prisons to protect the lives and 
property of citizens from its effects ; produces domestic discord and 
strife ; makes unhappy homes, and beggars innocent women and help- 
less children ; and the manufacture and traffic in these drinks misem- 
ploys a large amount of capital, and by leeching from their capital im- 
pairs the productive industries of the State. 

" The temperance speaker to affirm, the saloon-keepers to deny. If 
these charges are true, there is sufficient reason why your business 
should be stopped, and a law placed upon our statute-books prohibiting 
it. Hoping you will improve this opportunity to come before the people, 
and meet this issue in a manly way, I am, 

" Respectfully, 
f 'S. H. King, Secretary Prohibition Committee." 

It is needless to say that this challenge was never ac- 
cepted. 

A correspondent of the Lincoln Daily Globe wrote from 
Wahoo, January 21st, 1881, concerning the first visit of 
Mr. Finch to that town : 

u Hon. John B. Finch was announced to speak here last night. He 
had never been here before, and curiosity was on tiptoe to see the cele- 
brated leader of the temperance forces. He came Friday noon. He is 
a much younger man than was expected, and one of our lawyers, after 
looking him over and seeing how harmless he looked, challenged him 
to debate the question of prohibition. Mr. Finch accepted, and an 



154 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

immense crowd gathered in the Baptist church to hear the discus- 
sion. 

1 ' Mr. Finch opened the discussion with a five-minute speech, after 
which Mr. Dean took the platform, and made a plea against prohibition. 

" To describe Finch's reply is impossible. One of our citizens re- 
marked that he should think Dean would feel as if he had been struck 
by a double-back-action blizzard. The saloon-keepers themselves admit 
the terrible defeat." 

In the winter of 1881-82 an Episcopal clergyman, C. 
Compton Burnett, of Iowa, gained some notoriety by mak- 
ing anti-prohibition speeches, masquerading as a temper- 
ance man. 

At Rockford, 111., and at other points his advance agent 
put up posters announcing his speech, and adding : 



" GO AND HEAR THE GREAT TEMPERANCE LECTURE." 



Notices were also sent to each of the churches, and many 
pastors were trapped by the deception, and announced the 
meetings from their pulpits. 

Not a line in his hand-bills or dodgers, or in the press 
notices they contained, indicated that his argument was to 
be in the line of opposition to the principle of prohibition. 
It was learned afterward that a Rockf ord brewer paid the 
rent of the Opera House for his speech in that city. 

Among the towns in Illinois visited by him was Lincoln, 
where a very strong prohibition sentiment exists. Upon 
observing hand-bills posted about town announcing a tem- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 155 

perance lecture by Burnett, the more earnest workers began 
to inquire who the lecturer could be, under whose auspices 
he was to come, and w T ho were making arrangements. Pro- 
found mystery seemed to shroud the coining of the alleged 
temperance speaker. The day fixed for the meeting 
arrived, and with it came Mr. Burnett, who was taken in 
charge by two saloon-keepers and conducted to a hotel. 
This undeceived the people who might have before believed 
they were to hear a bona fide temperance speech, and roused 
the indignation of the radical element. Hon. J. B. Mon- 
tague sought out Mr. Burnett at the hotel, and challenged 
him to discuss the prohibition question with one of the 
local speakers on that evening. Mr. Burnett replied that 
he could not tell for a few minutes, but would let Mr. 
Montague know as soon as he could consult with his local 
managers. Mr. Montague waited till time for meeting, 
and hearing nothing, went over to the hall. 

At the close of his speech Mr. Burnett stated that a man 
had come to his room at the hotel to challenge him to joint 
debate, that he had informed the man that he would let 
him know in fifteen minutes, but the man had not returned. 
Mr. Montague immediately arose, and contradicted the state- 
ment, saying that he would produce the disputant then and' 
there, and the discussion might proceed at once. 

This proposition not being accepted, Mr. Montague again 
publicly challenged Mr. Burnett to meet Mr. Finch in a 
joint discussion for two evenings, at some future date. 



156 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

This challenge was accepted, and January 26th and 27th, 
1882, fixed upon as the dates. 

Mr. Finch was notified, and promised to be present to 
fulfil his part of the agreement. Suspecting that Mr. Bur- 
nett was employed by the liquor men, Mr. Finch deter- 
mined to ascertain from incontrovertible evidence whether 
such was the fact. Colonel Sobieski was at that time in 
Nebraska, and the thought came to Mr. Finch that letters 
signed by him, and written to the secretary of the Liquor 
Association, would arouse no suspicions, because of the 
foreign spelling of the name. Accordingly he asked Col- 
onel Sobieski to write some letters, and the following corre- 
spondence, which explains itself, was the result : 

" Lincoln, Neb., January 4, 1882. 

" Hon. H. Rubens, Attorney Liquor Dealers' Association, Chicago, III. 

" Dear Sir : I see by the Times that you have one Rev. C. Compton 
Burnett speaking for you. Can we get him in Nebraska ? What do you 
pay him ? Where can we address him ? 

" Yours, John Seboska." 

To this letter the following reply was received, written 
on the official paper of the Liquor Association : 

" Liquor Dealers' and Manufacturers' Association, j 

Chicago, January 9, 1882. ) 

" John Seboska, Lincoln , Neb. 

" Dear Sir: You can address the Eev. C. Compton Burnett, Iowa 

City, la. 

" Yours truly, 

" Harry Rubens, A." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 157 

On the same sheet that contained the letter from Mr. 
Rubens, Colonel Sobieski wrote the following, and sent 
both letters to Mr. Burnett : 

" Lincoln, Neb., January 11, 1882. 
" Rev. C. Compton Burnett, Iowa City, la. 

'* Deab Sib : We want the same work done in this State that you are 
doing for the Liquor Dealers' Association of Illinois. What do they pay 
you ? What are your terms, and what dates can you give us ? Please 

answer at once. 

" Yours, 

" John Seboska." 



To this letter Mr. Burnett replied : 

i 



" Teinttt Rectoey, 
Iowa City, Ia., January 18, 1882. 



" John Seboska, Esq., Lincoln, Neb. 

" My deab Sib : Your favor of the 11th inst. came duly to hand, and 
in reply I beg to say I shall gladly accept your invitation to do what I can 
in your State in opposition to the prohibitive movement. My engage- 
ment in Illinois is to deliver fifty lectures for $1000, and $5 per day for 
travelling expenses. Some such engagement I could make with you. 
The dates I could not give for a week or so, as I am not yet through in 
Illinois, and have an engagement pending for this State next week. I 
have a two nights' debate at Lincoln, 111., with Finch, of your State. 

" Please let me hear from you at your convenience. How late in the 
spring would suit you ? 

" Very truly yours, 

" C. Compton Buenett." 

Armed with copies of the letters of Colonel Sobieski and 
Mr. Rubens, and the original letter from Mr. Burnett, 



158 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

Mr. Finch was prepared to unmask the hypocrisy of the 
man that opposed prohibition under the pretence that his 
devotion to temperance was the sole incentive to such a 
course. Expecting that his antagonist would illustrate his 
argument by alleging that the no-license cities of Iowa were 
unable to execute the law and suppress the saloons, Mr. 
Finch wrote to lawyers, bankers, express agents, post- 
masters, and municipal officers of those cities, asking what 
had been the effect of the adoption of the prohibition 
policy. He did not know the sentiments of any of the 
persons to whom he addressed his inquiries, but hoped, by 
selecting several classes of business men, to arrive at the 
exact truth concerning the status of those cities. To his 
surprise, he found the testimony uniformly favorable. 

He was not mistaken in the supposition that his opponent 
would deny the success of prohibition in the Iowa cities 
where it had been adopted. Mr. Burnett attempted to 
make a strong point of his allegations that the measure was 
ineffectual in checking the sale and use of intoxicants, and 
was greatly surprised and disconcerted when Mr. Finch 
forestalled his plea by reading letters from prominent and 
honored citizens testifying to the good results to their com- 
munities from the policy of extirpation which they had 
applied to the liquor traffic. 

Mr. Burnett feebly attempted to deny the declarations 
of the respected gentlemen who had answered the letters, 
but the unsupported denial did not carry much weight to 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 159 

overturn the concise arguments of Mr. Finch, bristling 
with proved facts and incidents. 

In closing his speech Mr. Burnett said : 

" I have not had time for all I wished to say. I ought 
to have at least five nights to present all the points against 
prohibition." 

Mr. Finch promptly stepped forward and replied : 

" 1 will meet the gentleman to discuss this question for 
five nights or five weeks, if he desires." 

" I never decline a challenge," Mr. Burnett answered. 

In the next issue of the local papers the following letter 
appeared : 

" To Rev. C. Complon Burnett : 

" Responding to your desire to continue the discussion at Lincoln on 

the question, ' Do We Want Prohibition ? ' I make the following offer : 

I will meet you and discuss the question in Lincoln, 111., from March 

6th to 11th— six nights— the usual rules of debate to apply. James B. 

Montague, of Lincoln, is empowered to represent me and make all 

necessary arrangements. Hoping this will prove satisfactory, I remain, 

' ' Respectfully, 

" John B. Finch." 

Although the printed and written challenge were both 
mailed to Mr. Burnett, no demand was made upon Mr. 
Montague to perfect plans for another debate. 

In the campaign for the adoption of the prohibition con- 
stitutional amendment in Iowa, in 1882, Mr. Finch was 
constantly in the field for two months. 



160 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

The Legislature that supposed it was submitting the 
amendment* gave only three months to make the canvass 
for it, and fixed the special election at which the question 
was to be voted on for June 27th, a date when the people 
in the farming communities are always too busy to give 
any attention to any subject not directly connected with the 
labor in their own fields. Knowing that temperance senti- 
ment is strongest in rural precincts, the State temperance 
leaders felt that the time for the election was very inoppor- 
tune, and there were many persons who openly charged 
that this was part of a plan arranged by the politicians to 
defeat the amendment. 

For this reason every worker was kept busy, and the 
more able ones were required to do double duty. Mr. 
Finch frequently addressed large grove meetings in the 
afternoon, and afterward took a train for some distant point 
to meet another audience in the evening. 

At Lemars a renegade minister named Adams, in the 
employ of the brewers, to make anti- prohibition speeches, 
was anxious to meet some Prohibitionist in joint debate. 
The temperance people were only too glad to grant the re- 
quest, and as Mr. Finch was to be at the mass-meeting in 
the afternoon of June 14th, the ex-Reverend gentleman 
was turned over to his " tender mercies." Mr. Finch gave 

* The Supreme Court of Iowa afterward decided that the amendment 
was never legally submitted, and that its adoption by the people was 
therefore null and void. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B, FINCH. 161 

Mr. Adams his choice in the division of time, which was 
one hour for his opening, to be followed by one and one 
half hours' argument from Mr. Finch, and half an hour 
for closing. This programme was carried out. 

Some of the anti-prohibition merchants who heard the 
speeches said of Mr. Adams : 

" His coming here has done our cause harm. We would 
better have paid him to stay away." 

The following laughable incident was reported in a letter 
to the Sioux City Journal the next morning by a corre- 
spondent who was present. 

While Mr. Adams was giving his final thirty minutes' 
speech he said piteously : 

" The gentleman who has just preceded me has been 
applauded almost incessantly ; why do not you applaud 
me?" 

The absurdity of the plea drew forth a storm of laughter 
and ridicule. 

The Lemars Globe, although bitterly hostile to prohibi- 
tion, gracefully admitted the superiority of the argument 
by the defender of the amendment : 

" Mr. Finch answered in a running reply to his opponent, ninety 
minutes long, making the best temperance speech to which we have ever 
listened. He showed himself a finished disputant on the question under 
discussion, and dealt his opponent blow after blow at all points. He is 
more than a match for Mr. Adams, and withal was so decent in his 
manner of pummelling his victim that those who differ with him had to 
applaud. Mr. Finch was interrupted throughout by vociferous applause, 



162 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

and when he had quit the audience in a great majority were with 
him." 

Mr. Finch's reputation as a debater had now become so 
extended that very few opportunities ever afterward oc- 
curred when a defender of the license system would con- 
sent to meet him in public discussion. 

The National "Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
determined to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the 
" Crusade," which began about the end of the year 1873. 
The origin of the movement has been attributed to a speech 
made by Dr. Dio Lewis, in Hillsboro, Ohio, December 23d 
of that year. Frances E. Willard, President of the National 
Union, invited Dr. Lewis to be present and deliver an 
address at the anniversary meeting at Washington Court 
House, Ohio. 

It was learned some time after this invitation was given 
and accepted, that Dr. Lewis intended to make his address 
a bitter attack on the principle of prohibition, which had 
the hearty support of the National Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union. The invitation was therefore with- 
drawn, and Mr. Finch was requested by Mrs. Mary A. Wood- 
bridge, to challenge Dr. Lewis to engage in a series of joint 
debates in the principal cities of Ohio, under the auspices of 
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of that State. 

Mr. Finch promptly complied with the request, and for- 
warded this challenge, to be sent by Mrs. Woodbridge, 
with her letter of explanation, to Dr. Lewis : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 163 

" Boston, December 7, 1883. 
" Dr. Bio Lewis. 

" Deak Sis *. Information comes to me that you intend, at the Crusade 
convention at Washington Court House, to attack the prohibition policy 
of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of that State. I wish to 
state the following facts, and make the following offer : 

" 1. You are the originator of the Crusade. 

"2. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is the child of the 
Crusade. 

" 3. Years of practical work have made the members of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union Prohibitionists. In other words, they 
believe the police power of the State should prohibit poisoned drink as 
it now does poisoned food. 

" 4. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Ohio has just closed 
a most wonderful campaign, and an attack on prohibition would be an 
attack on their policy and work. 

" 5. You intend to have your speech printed in the papers and circu- 
lated in this country and Europe, and would, of course, want the argu- 
ments in favor of prohibition stated so you can expose their fallacies, 
and not be compelled to set up a man of straw to knock down, and at 
the same time would be willing to allow a thorough examination of the 
statements and arguments which you may use. Therefore, I offer to meet 
you at Washington Court House, or any other city or cities in Ohio, not to 
exceed ten, and discuss the practicability and necessity of the prohibi- 
tion of the alcoholic drink traffic. Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, President 
of the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union, will represent me and 
make all necessary arrangements. Although you did once make a speech 
in Lincoln, Neb., when you knew there would be no opportunity of 
answering it, and by it defeated local option the next day in the 
Nebraska Legislature, I am sure you do not want to make a speech 
against arguments which you may put into the mouths of the Prohibi- 
tionists, when you can have a live Prohibitionist to state the reasons for 



164 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

prohibition. The liquor traffic is the institution on trial, the people 
' are the jury, and you, of course, believe in their intelligence and ability 
to settle the matter right. To do this they should hear both sides of the 
question. Am I right in supposing you do not wish to make an argu- 
ment on this great question without giving an opportunity to the Pro- 
hibitionists to review and examine it before the same jury where it is 

made? 

" Respectfully, 

" John B. Finch." 

Immediately upon receipt of this letter Mrs. Wood- 
bridge enclosed it with the following to Dr. Lewis : 

' ' Cleveland, December 12, 1883. 
" Dr. Dio Lewis, New York City. 

11 Sir : Having learned of your intent to deliver an anti-prohibition 
speech at Washington Court House on the 26th of this month, and, the 
ground being our own, the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
has requested John B. Finch, Esq., to meet you at that time for a full 
discussion of the subject. I enclose Mr. Finch's letter, addressed to 
yourself, which accompanied his affirmative response to our request. I 
am just informed that the Union at Washington Court House has uncon- 
ditionally withdrawn its invitation, but Mr. Finch's offer for other cities 
holds good, and we await your acceptance of the same. As we have 
taken the liberty to publish Mr. Finch's offer, with accompanying cir- 
cumstances (the same will appear simultaneously in the leading papers 
of Cleveland and elsewhere), we hope for a speedy reply, and that it may 
receive like publicity. 

" Respectfully, 

" Mart A. Woodbridge, 

" President of the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union.''* 

In reply to these letters Dr. Lewis sent the following : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 165 

" New Yoke, December 14, 1883. 
" John B. Finch, Esq., Adams House, Boston, Mass. 

1 ' My deae Sie : Your pleasant and stimulating letter of December 7th 
has this moment reached me. Where it has been in the meantime I am 
sure I cannot say. The thought and spirit of your letter are extremely 
grateful to my feelings. I think, however, that the proposed discussions 
in Ohio are already forestalled by a withdrawal on the part of the friends 
at Washington of their invitation. They did invite me to deliver an 
address on both Sunday and Monday, the 23d and the 24th ; but hear- 
ing that I intended to make an address on prohibition, and that my 
position would be that of anti-prohibition, they withdrew their invita- 
tion, so that I am not going. I should be very glad to discuss, under 
favoring conditions, the question of prohibition with any intelligent and 
earnest Prohibitionist, and especially if he would be recognized as a 
representative Prohibitionist by the friends of the cause. If my antag- 
onist had not the advantage of such recognition, the advantages of such 
a meeting would be greatly lessened. I held several discussions on the 
subject in Massachusetts — one with the Rev. Dr. Miner — and am very 
glad to give the reasons for my belief that prohibition is the deadliest 
enemy of our Divine cause in a debate under favoring conditions ; but 
I think the opportunity for such meeting in Ohio has now been with- 
drawn. 

" Hoping that I shall have the honor and pleasure to discuss the sub- 
ject with you at some future time, provided always (if you will pardon 
the limitation) that you are a recognized representative of the prohibi- 
tory party, I am, my dear sir, yours very truly, 

"Dio Lewis." 

" New York, December 15, 1883. 
" Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, President Woman's Christian Temperance 

Union. 

" My Feiend : Your note containing Mr. Finch's very courteous letter 
has just reached me. Enclosed please find my answer to Mr. Finch. 



166 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

There is great danger in such discussions that the meeting may be turned 

into a mere gladiatorial contest ; and if the discussions occur, I hope 

that everything may be done to give them the same spirit which filled 

the very air of Ohio during my sojourn there ten years ago. 

" Very truly yours, 

" Dio Lewis." 

" New York, December 15, 1883. 
" Hon. John B. Finch. 

11 My dear Sir : In your letter just received you suggest a series of 
public discussions of prohibition in Ohio. Believing that the brave, 
noble temperance women of that State are in danger of sacrificing their 
Divine cause in an attempt to win victory through an army of constables, 
I shall be glad to participate in such discussions, with the hope that I 
may help to turn the tide. 

"On the occasion of the decennial celebration of the Ohio "Woman's 
Crusade I am to deliver an address in Cooper Institute, New York, like- 
wise one in Brooklyn. As I believe the challenged party has the choice 
of time and place, I wish you would participate in the Cooper Institute 
meeting. The friends here will pay your expenses. If after that meet- 
ing you should think it wise to continue the discussion in Ohio, I will 
meet you in two or three of the principal cities, my expenses being paid, 
although my overwhelming duties in this city will make it very difficult 
for me to be absent so long. Devoutly hoping that if such discussions 
occur they may be filled with the most earnest purpose on our part, not 
to win personal victory, but to disseminate light, I am very truly yours, 

" Dio Lewis." 

Mr. Finch made this characteristic and vigorous reply to 
the letters of Dr. Lewis : 

" Boston, December 20, 1883. 
" Dr. Dio Lewis. 

" Dear Sir : Your letters of the 14th and 15th are at hand. They are 

certainly confusing, if not contradictory. In the first place you stipu- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 167 

late that I shall be a recognized representative Prohibitionist, and in the 
second you say nothing about it. I do not claim to be a recognized rep- 
resentative of the Prohibitionists. I represent those who call on me to 
represeDt them — the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union. I 
was surprised at your stipulation, after your making the statement that 
the Ohio women had withdrawn the invitation which they had extended 
to you, and thereby taken away your right to claim to represent anybody 
but Dr. Dio Lewis. Still, your personality and great fame as a debater, 
after the struggles which you recount with Dr. Miner and others, may 
justify you in declining to meet any other than representative men, and 
in regarding with contempt the bravado of a young man who, in defence 
of friends he honors and respects, challenges you to meet him in the 
lists of truth. I apologize for my presumption, and thank you for warn- 
ing me, by reciting the number of your previous victories, of the danger 
I am to encounter, and am only persuaded to go forward in the matter 
by the implied agreement, made in your letter to Mrs. Woodbridge, that 
you will curb your great powers and not make the debate a great gladi- 
atorial contest. I am sure you will remember the implied agreement ; 
but in order to insure its keeping, I would suggest that a member of the 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the body of Prohibitionists which 
I am to represent, and a member of one of the great anti prohibitory 
organizations, the Brewers' Congress, the Distillers' Union, or the Saloon- 
Keepers' League be present on the platform to open and close the debate 
with prayer. 

" You state that the challenged party has the choice of time and 
place. Pardon my youth and ignorance, for I did not suppose that a 
challenge to discuss an issue in a State where it was pending gave the 
challenged party a right to locate the discussion hundreds of miles away, 
in a State where it is not pending ; and may I, as a young man, suggest 
that you will hardly add to your reputation for courage and manliness 
by standing in the city of New York and firing rhetorical guns at the 
policy of the women of Ohio. But, believing in the principles I am 



168 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

asked to defend, I accept your terms with one modification. My en- 
gagements render it impossible for me to be in New York on the 23d inst. 
I can be there on February 9th and 10th, and will meet you on either of 
those days, in consideration of your meeting me in Cincinnati, Colum- 
bus, and Cleveland, O., during the week of February 24th and March 1st. 
My friend, John W. Cummings, 58 Eeade Street, New York, will rep- 
resent me in arranging for the New York meeting, Mrs. Mary A. Wood- 
bridge, of Cleveland, O., in arranging for the Ohio meetings. 

" Respectfully, 

" John B. Finch." 

Dr. Lewis seemed disposed to quibble, and several com- 
munications, which will explain themselves, passed between 
him and Mr. Finch. 

" New York, December 21, 1883. 
" Hon. John B. Finch. 

1 ' My dear Sir : Your letter of yesterday has just reached me. I am 
sorry you cannot come to New York and begin our discussions here on 
the 23d. I have no authority, until I consult with the friends here, to 
arrange a meeting for February 9th or 10th. I presume such meetings 
can be arranged, however, and I will give you notice. You suggest that 
our discussions in Ohio shall take place during the weeks ' February 
4th and March 1st, 1884.' I cannot quite comprehend this, and think 
it must be in some way an error. Please inform me what it means. I 
have carefully quoted the words from your letter. I can hardly believe 
you are serious in your proposition to have a number of the members of 
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union meet on the platform with 
members of the Distillers' Union or Saloon-Keepers' League, one to 
open and the other to close the debate with prayer. This must be in- 
tended as a joke. In the meantime, although you are very busy with 
your evening addresses, can you not find time to write a series of letters 
in the Ohio papers in reference to prohibition ? I will prepare a series 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 169 

of brief papers against prohibition. Should the papers of Ohio publish 

our contributions, the great mass of the people would get some idea of 

our respective views, and thus be better able to comprehend our public 

discussions. 

" Yours truly, 

" Dio Lewis." 

* 

" Boston, December 22, 1883. 
" Dr. Dio Lewis. 

" Deak Sir : Answering yours of December 21st, 1883, my friend, John 
W. Cummings, 58 Keade Street, New York, will call on you and make 
all necessary arrangements for the New York meeting, provided you will 
meet me in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, O., during the week 
beginning February 24th and ending March 1st. This is what I in- 
tended to say, and if I failed, it was a mistake of the pen. I will pay my 
own expenses in New York, and my friends will assist in making it a 
joint meeting. I was certainly serious in my proposition to have repre- 
sentatives of the Prohibitionists and anti-Prohibitionists on the plat- 
form to open and close the meeting with prayer. The Ohio Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, which I am to represent, is a body of Pro- 
hibitionists, and a member of that bodj^, properly delegated, would be a 
representative Prohibitionist. I am sure Miss Frances E. Willard, 
President of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, will 
delegate some lady to represent the national body and open the debate 
with prayer. The Brewers' Congress, Distillers' Union, and Saloon- 
Keepers' League are the only representative bodies of anti -Prohibition- 
ists in the country, and as you are to represent the principle they are 
organized to defend, I am sure, if you request it, they would delegate 
some member of their craft to close the debate with prayer ; for if their 
business is to be tolerated by a Christian State, it is right to ask God 
to bless it. When j T ou know me better you will know I never joke about 
matters like this. But I do not wish it understood that I make it a 
necessary condition of the debate that a representative anti -Prohibition- 
ist close it with prayer, for I presume the truth, plainly stated during 



170 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the discussion, would not tend to make him [no woman is an anti-Pro- 
hibitionist] very devout. 

" In regard to making the discussion a newspaper warfare in Ohio, I 
will simply say I know many of the editors in Ohio, and judging the 
rest by those who are my friends, I think they are as fully capable of 
discussing the question intelligently as either of us ; and I have no 
desire to reflect on their ability or honesty by using their columns, 
thereby insinuating that they lack either the intelligence or will to dis- 
cuss this great national issue. I have neither time nor inclination for a 
newspaper controversy ; and, in addition, fear I could not make you 
understand so but what you would take my most serious arguments as 
jokes. You propose to attack the Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
of Ohio on the same line the liquor- sellers have been attacking them 
for years. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union ask me to answer 
you. Believing that a man who claims to be a temperance man, and 
uses his strength not against the common enemy, but against women 
working for the same cause, but not in his way, should be met and 
forced to choose between the temperance workers and their enemies, I, 
despite my youth, ignorance, and lack of platform experience, in defence 
of the policy of the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union, threw 
my glove into the ring, and asked God to give me strength and wisdom 
to defend the cause of the women and children and homes of this land. 
Is it to be taken up ? Further letter-writing is unnecessary. 

" Respectfully, 

"John B. Finch." 

" New York, December 22, 1883. 
" Hon. John B. Finch, Adams House, Boston, Mass. 

" My deae Sir : In rereading your letter of the 20th, I find several 
sentences of such extraordinary character and so offensive to me, that I 
write to ask if they were intentional ? I refer to such sentences as, ' I 
thank you from my heart for warning me, by reciting the number of 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 171 

your past victories, of the danger I am to encounter,' etc. And, again, 
1 You will hardly add to your reputation for courage, manliness,' etc. 

" These are very extraordinary sentences — the first one in particular 
— as I had not made the slightest allusion to a victory nor to anything 
of the kind. 

" And, again, v Curb your great powers. ' And once more, your propo- 
sition to have a member of the "Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
and a member of the Distillers' Union or Saloon-Keepers' League on 
the platform — ' one to open and the other to close the debates with 
prayer ' — is of so extraordinary a character that I scarcely know what to 
say about it. If one is at liberty to assume that you are serious in this 
proposition, I can only say that it is monstrous and impracticable. If 
the proposition is made in irony, I take the liberty to suggest that it is 
far below the level of the proposed discussions. 

" All these sentences are extremely offensive to me. I never either 
write or speak on that plane ; but in all my labors in temperance, 
hygiene, or science, whether as a writer or a speaker, however feeble my 
efforts may be intellectually, I always try as well as I know how to be 
courteous to every one. And in the field of temperance, in which I have 
labored pretty constantly for forty years, I uniformly treat the friends 
of rum, when I believe them sincere, with the same politeness as the 
friends of temperance. 

" Will you please tell me if these remarkable sentences were acci- 
dents, or written with a clear conception of their meaning ? 

" Very truly yours, 

"Dio Lewis." 

" Boston, December 24, 1883. 
" Dr. Bio Lewis. 

" Deae Sie : Your letter of the 22d is at hand. Please allow me to 
say if there has been any discourtesy in our correspondence it was in 
your first letter to me, when, after I had, on behalf of the Ohio Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, asked you to discuss the question, you, 



172 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 

instead of accepting or declining the invitation, went on to stipulate 
' that I should be a representative Prohibitionist.' I challenged you as 
a man, and desired to meet you as a man for an honest comparison of 
views, but you declined to meet me unless I was a ' representative Pro- 
hibitionist.' Of course there must be a reason for this, and it must be 
one of two : 

" 1. You were speaking as a representative anti -Prohibitionist for the 
great anti-prohibition organizations, as Brewers' Congress, etc. ; or, 

" 2. Your own fame and personality were so great as to entitle you to 
make the stipulation. Under any other circumstances the stipulation 
was impertinent and insulting. I long ago learned that a man who 
hunted for insults lacked good sense, and was not inclined to think you 
meant an insult. I could not believe the first reason was the true one, 
so I was forced back upon the second as the real reason, and from that 
standpoint wrote my letter of the 20th. I wrote calmly, earnestly, dis- 
passionately, fully comprehending all I wrote. I wrote as a young man 
to one of superior ability and experience, to say what I really thought 
ought to be said in return for favors which your letters seemed to grant. 
If you did not mean to warn me, why did you mention your contest with 
the Eev. Dr. Miner ? Certainly it was matter entirely foreign to this 
case. I presumed it was a victory for you, for the vanquished are not 
apt to mention their defeats to new antagonists. 

" You say, ' I never write or speak on that plane.' 

" I have before me a book * and read this sentence : ' I will not say 
that those who make such statements are not honest men, and that they 
do not think they are speaking the truth ; but it is very easy to show 
that they entirely fail to comprehend the subjects and the facts.' This 
is said of the Eev. Dr. D. C. Eddy. 

' ' Again I read : ' And yet Prohibitionists are some of them so loose- 
headed,' etc. 



* Prohibition a Failure. By Dio Lewis. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 173 

" Again : ' When we stop lying and utter our convictions about their 
trade in a reasonable and earnest spirit,' and so on to the end of the 
book. 

" This book, with all its irony, insinuation, sarcasm, misstatement, 
misrepresentation, and illogical deductions, purports to have been writ- 
ten by you, and I am glad to be informed by your letter that you do not 
write on that plane, and that, consequently, the book could not have 
been written by you. 

*? The issue between us is not a personal one, and on my part shall 
never be degraded to a personal one. It is a question of principle, and 
in the spirit of my first letter I ask you not to avoid the discussion by 
trying to insinuate that your personality has been attacked. I assure 
you I do not at all feel like raising false issues to get out of the discus- 
sion, but am truly anxious to meet you, hoping that by a comparison of 
views the cause of truth may be benefited, and I, by listening to you, be 
strengthened for the battle of life. 

" Eespectfully, 

" John B. Finch." 

Two weeks after this letter was written Dr. Lewis wrote 
Mrs. Woodbridge declining to meet Mr. Finch, and re- 
ceived from her a very emphatic reply : 

" New Yoke, January 7, 1884. 
" Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge : 

" My deae Madam : You ask me to send you information in regard to 

the proposed discussion between Mr. Finch and myself. In a recent 

letter he insists that he is serious in his proposition that on the platform 

at our discussions we shall have a member of the Woman's Christian 

Temperance Union and some representative of the liquor traffic to oj>en 

and close the meeting with prayer. Mr. Finch declares in response to 

my remonstrance that this is not a joke, but that it was written ' calmly 

and dispassionately.' 



174 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" A large number of the most devout friends of temperance think that 
to call attention away from the moral agencies which they believe are 
the only effective forces in the temperance cause and fix it on the con- 
stable is a fatal error. This is my own deepest conviction. Many of our 
most enlightened and influential editors cherish the same thought. And 
now Mr. Finch seriously proposes that we get a rum -seller to pray for a 
blessing on our cause. I ask you, my dear madam, if you can believe 
that a discussion inaugurated by such a proposition as that can result in 
any good ? 

" I will not recall the very offensive personalities in Mr. Finch's let- 
ters to me, for the public have read them, but it seems clear that while 
our discussions might amuse the boys, we should not contribute to the 
solution of a great problem. It is always difficult to keep oral debates 
within the sphere of instruction, so that many persons quite despair of 
their usefulness. 

" I have participated in many public discussions, and confess to a 
liking for that sort of thing, but must now say that I am not willing to 
join in the proposed discussion with Mr. Finch. 

" I will, however, if the leading papers in Ohio care to publish my 
contributions, prepare a series of brief papers on prohibition, and Mr. 
Finch can, if he chooses, respond to them. In this way we shall reach 
the entire reading public of Ohio, and much more effectively than in 
public debates, unless the debaters are filled with their subject and can 
forget themselves. 

" With vivid recollections of past scenes in Ohio, and with a yearning 

hope that the earnest women of your great State may be divinely guided, 

" Respectfully, 

" Dio Lewis." 

" Cleveland, O., January 11, 1884. 
" Dr. Dio Lewis, New York City. 

. " Sir : Your communication of the 7th is before me, in which you 
decline the discussion with Mr. Finch which you had engaged to hold, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 175 

and assign as your reason ' his peculiar request concerning the opening 
and closing of the meetings with prayer.' 

" Such excuse is wholly untenable, as Mr. Finch, in his letter to you 
of December 22d, writes, c I do not wish it understood that I make it a 
necessary condition of debate. ' 

" We cannot, therefore, accept such excuse. 

" Again you say : ' A large number of the most devout friends of tem- 
perance think that to call attention away from the moral agencies which 
they believe are the only effective forces in the temperance cause and fix 
it on the constable is a fatal error. ' The people of Ohio do not advo- 
cate any such doctrine ; but if you think they do, it should be your 
desire to bring every influence to bear for their conviction and conver- 
sion to what you alone believe to be the truth. 

" You also say, * Through newspaper correspondence the reading pub- 
lic of Ohio would be more effectively reached, unless the debaters are 
filled with the subject and can forget themselves.' Again : ' It seems 
clear that while our discussions might amuse the boys, we should not 
contribute to the solution of a great problem.' 

" I have never listened to an address by yourself, and cannot say if 
your personality is superior to your subject, or if you are usually amus- 
ing to boys, but I can positively affirm that Mr. Finch always forgets 
himself in his argument for the redemption of the people and the salva- 
tion of this Republic from the curse of intemperance, and never de- 
scends to trifling or buffoonery. So if you will guard yourself against 
being amusing, the meetings must be a success. 

- ' You will perceive that your excuses for withdrawing from the debate 
are without foundation, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
of Ohio holds you to your agreement, and will continue to arrange for 
the appointed meetings at Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. 

" Respectfully, 

" Mary A. Woodbeidge, 

"President Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union." 



176 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" New Yokk, January 21, 1884. 
" Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, 

" Dear Madam : I can add nothing to the statement in my last letter 
to you. More than a score of trusted friends who have read Mr. Finch's 
letters to me advise against the discussion. I am sory to hear from you 
that the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Ohio, notwithstand- 
ing my positive withdrawal from the debate, will still go on announcing 
me as one of the disputants. If any one should come to hear me he 
would be disappointed. 

" I am to meet Neal Dow in an early issue of the North American Re- 
view. If the public journals do not reprint our papers, I will gladly join 
with the friends of prohibition in printing and distributing them 

throughout the State. 

' ' Yours respectfully, 

" Dio Lewis." 

" Cleveland, O., January 23, 1884. 
" Dr. Dio Lewis, New York City. 

" Dear Sir : Yours of the 21st this hour received. The Ohio Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union continued the announcement of your com- 
ing for two reasons : 1. We could not think the * advice of trusted 
friends, ' though ' more than a score ' in number, would tempt you to 
break an engagement in which your word and honor were at stake. 2. 
We believed the discussion would be of great benefit to our cause, and 
desired the communities where the meetings were to be held to be fully 
informed concerning them. Our experience gives us no assurance that 
a contract of any character would be binding on your part. We do not, 
therefore, care to consider your proposition. 
" Respectfully, 

" Mary A. Woodbridge, 
" President Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union.'" 

Mr. Finch tersely summed up and closed the epistolary 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 177 

controversy. To the following incisive letter lie received 

no reply : 

" Boston, January 28, 1884. 
" Dr. Dio Lewis. 

" Deab Sir : Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge has just forwarded to me your 
letters declining to meet me in discussion in Ohio. I am not surprised, 
for I hardly expected that a man who would accept an invitation from 
Christian women to assist them in their work, and then propose to use 
the opportunity to attack their work, would care to meet in fair discus- 
sion a representative of those women. If an organization should invite 
me to speak for them, I should consider myself in honor bound, if I was 
opposed to their plan of work, to state so in my letter of acceptance. 
You knew prohibition was a primary principle of the Ohio Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union ; why did you not state in your letter to 
Miss Willard what you proposed to do ? In the West it would hardly 
be considered honorable warfare to accept the hospitalities of a person 
for the sake of catching him off his guard and attacking him. You 
seemed to think differently, and when your purpose was discovered, I 
was asked by the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union to meet 
you. You accepted the invitation in your letter of December 15th, and 
indicated how you wished the meetings conducted, by saying, ' There is 
great danger in such discussions that the meetings may be turned into 
a mere gladiatorial contest, and if the discussions occur, I hope that 
everything may be done to give them the same spirit which filled the 
1 very air of Ohio during my sojourn there ten years ago.' What filled 
the air ? The spirit of prayer. The world knows this to be the fact. 
To carry out your suggestion and ensure the fact that no gladiatorial 
contest should take place, I, in my letter of December 20th, suggested 
that a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and Brew- 
ers' League, Distillers' Union, or Saloon-Keepers' Union be on the plat- 
form to open and close the meeting with prayer. In your letter of 
December 22d, you say, ' The proposition is monstrous and impracti- 



178 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

cable.' Why monstrous and impracticable? If you did not mean 
prayer, what did you mean by ' the spirit of ten years ago ' ? I do not 
consider it either monstrous or impracticable to have a debate opened 
or closed with prayer. In your letter of January 7th you seem to convey 
the idea that the suggestion is monstrous and impracticable because a 
representative anti-Prohibitionist is to assist in the praying. In your 
speech in New York, January 4th, you said : ' It is not right to call the 
liquor- dealers devils and hell-hounds ; many of them are as good men 
as anybody ; ' and yet, on the 7th, you object to one of these good men 
praying in meeting. Would it be ' monstrous ' and ' impracticable ' to 
ask you to pray ? If a liquor-dealer is as good as anybody he is as good 
as you ; and if it would be correct to ask you to pray, why not correct 
to ask him ? Is not saying, ' It is monstrous and impracticable to ask a 
liquor-dealer to pray,' equivalent to saying he is a ' devil ' and a * hell- 
hound ' ? More than this, you know I positively stated the suggestion 
was not made a condition of the debate. 

" In your letter of January 7th, you say : ' To call attention away 
from moral agencies and fix it on the constable is a fatal error.' You 
know that the Woman's Christian Temperance Union never did and 
never will advocate any such thing, and that prohibition does not con- 
template any such thing. The inference conveyed by the sentence is 
false, and if your argument was to stand on such foundation I do not 
wonder that you avoided the discussion. 

" You profess to be willing to take up the newspaper controversy. 
Your letters convey the idea that you grow brave, as you occupy ground 
which you know that no one cares to take the time to contest with you. 
I regret your refusal to keep your agreement, and that the anti-Pro- 
hibitionists have not a man in this country to defend the traffic on its 
merits ; that all its defence must come under the cloak of temperance, 
with its defender protesting that he does it from a temperance stand- 
point. With kindest wishes, I am, my dear sir, 

" Respectfully yours, 

" John B. Finch." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 179 

On Sunday afternoon, December 23d, 1883, Dr. Dio 
Lewis delivered an address at the meeting of the Manhattan 
Temperance Association in Cooper Union Hall, New York. 
This was the speech prepared for the anniversary meeting 
of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, held on the 
same day at Washington Court House, O. He ridiculed 
prohibition and its defenders, as had been expected, and 
spun a web of gauzy sophistry around the central thoughts 
of " personal liberty" and " prohibition a failure." 

Although Dr. Lewis had declined to engage in the joint 
debate, it was determined that Mr. Finch should have an 
opportunity to answer him. A meeting was therefore 
arranged for Chickering Hall, New York, for Sunday, 
February 10th, when he utterly demolished the frail fabric 
of false reasoning woven by Dr. Lewis. 

Mr. Finch said : 

" Ladies and Gentlemen : A man standing on the snow-capped top of 
a mountain in Switzerland picked up a piece of ice and threw it down 
the mountain side. It struck many feet below, where, lo, the mountain 
side seemed to break loose, and an immense field of ice and snow moved 
swiftly and with resistless force toward the foot of the mountain. On 
it swept, moving swifter and swifter, grinding rocks to powder, tearing 
loose and carrying away old landmarks, until with a plunge it leaped into 
a ravine at the base, where it lay a disorganized mass, without motion 
or power. The man gazed in astonishment at the force his unthinking 
effort had set in motion, and on his way down the mountain stopped to 
look at the spent avalanche, when he saw it was already dissolving in 
the warm embrace of the lower atmosphere. The immense mass had 
moved from the arms of winter to the lap of spring, where the influence 



180 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

of softer clime and warmer winds were liberating the water, and sending 
it ladened with the powdered rock to turn the wheel of the mill and the 
factory, and then to fertilize the fields of intelligent industry, in the 
valley below. 

" * The Woman's Crusade ' was an avalanche, set in motion by the 
words of Dr. Dio Lewis, and, like the mountain avalanche, it swept on 
during the winter of 1873-74, astonishing the world by its power, and 
then stopped, held by the hills of emotional reaction and public inertia, a 
disorganized, helpless mass. The world asked, ' What good has been 
accomplished ? ' The answer came in the organization of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union. The movement had taken woman from 
the mountains of icy waiting and inaction to the more genial clime of 
religious and moral activity, under whose influence the force formerly 
latent was set free and made a blessing to the world by the methods of 
action planned and developed by woman herself. 

" The Woman's Crusade was an effect, not a cause. For years the 
force had been gathering, and the breaking of social bonds, heart-loves, 
and home ties by the evils of the drink traffic made its liberation an 
easy matter. 

" The old adage, ' A state of war is a state of immorality,' was doubly 
verified during our terrible Civil War. The issue in the northland was 
national life ; in the southland, southern independence. In both sec- 
tions all other questions were subordinated, and the public mind, con- 
stantly occupied with national issues, overlooked the minor matters of 
the enforcement of law and protection of public morals ; this, taken to- 
gether with the fact that moral men are uniformly the patriots of the 
nation, while bad men always seize the opportunity offered by public 
danger and consequent demoralization to increase their ill-gotten gains 
and fasten securely on public life, led to a rapid increase of intemper- 
ance ; while the order directing the issuing of liquor rations to the 
troops make drunkards of thousands of previously temperate men. After 
the close of the war ancl the return of the troops, drunkenness hung like 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 181 

a dark clond over the land. Homes were wrecked, hearts broken, and 
the moan of the widow and orphan made by drink filled the land. 
Woman suffered in silence until her love for her home and dear ones 
shut out from her mental vision all other considerations but their pro- 
tection and safety. It was Dr. Lewis's words, which, like the ice 
thrown from the mountain top, was just the force to set in motion 
woman, to right her own wrongs. His words hastened but did not 
cause woman's action. Only bitterest agony, united with anxiety for 
loved ones and humanity, could have forced modest, loving, cultured 
women to break away from the conventional restraints of ages, all the 
teachings of their early years, and amid the sneers and jeers of those they 
wished to save enter vile grog-shops to plead on their knees for their 
homes and loved ones. Like all force suddenly and thoughtlessly 
released, the crusade spent itself, and an emotional reaction came. As a 
temperance movement, per se, it was a wretched failure ; as a prepara- 
tion for organized, systematic, intelligent work, it was of God, and by 
Him directed. [Applause.] 

" During this wonderful time of preparation, the mental horizon of 
woman broadened rapidly, and when the crusade had done its work and 
its time of usefulness had forever passed, they were ready to use their 
new-found powers in an intelligent, logical way. The Woman's Chris- 
tian Temperance Union sprang from the brain of the women of the cru- 
sade like Minerva from the brain of Jupiter. Dr. Lewis neither by word 
nor pen gave shape to the movement. His speech shows he has not de- 
veloped since the crusade started, for he says : 

" ' I am an old man, but I expect to live long enough to see the friends 
of temperance turn their backs upon the constable, join hands and hearts 
in a grand movement combining the tactics of Washingtonianism and 
the Woman's Crusade, and within twelve months fill the most wonderful 
page in the history of Christian civilization.' 

" Not only has Dr. Lewis failed to grasp a sensible idea, but, like the 
great defender of the theory of phlogiston (fire-matter), seems to have 



182 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

given up his own investigations and work in order to be free to devote 
his time to attacking those who differ with him. The "Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union abandons the methods, not the principles of the 
crusade, and for this he attacks it. 

" It is a principle of all reforms, that while principles may not change, 
methods must change, to meet the ever-changing front of the evil as- 
sailed. As well say, it would have been wisdom for Grant to have 
trained his guns on the old field of Bull Run, when Lee was in Peters- 
burg and Richmond, or for Lee to have trained his guns on Malvern 
Hill, when Meade was in Pennsylvania, as to say the temperance forces 
of to-day should attack the same position they did ten years ago. The 
moral, social, and religious position of the enemy is different ; his 
methods of defence have been almost wholly changed ; and to advocate 
the use of old methods would be like advocating an attack with the 
cross-bows and catapults of old upon a fortification armed with rifled 
cannon. [Applause.] The women who had been led into the crusade 
by their desire to protect themselves, their loved ones, and humanity 
from the evils of intemperance, were taught this principle by practical 
experience. 

" The attack of the crusade upon the grog-shops was based upon the 
following axioms : 

' * 1. Knowledge of the material universe comes to a child through his 
sense perceptions. 

" 2. The child's habits, character, and powers depend largely upon 
the habits, customs, and institutions of which his sense perceptions take 
cognizance. 

" 3. Alcoholic liquors are a product of man's work, consequently the 
desire for and disease resulting from the use of must follow their 
manufacture. To grant even the existence of a natural desire for stim- 
ulants (which I would not do) is not to grant the desire for a specific 
stimulant, as the general desire could only become a specific desire when 
it had been trained to the use of the specific stimulant. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 183 

i 

" 4. Alcoholic drinks being a manufactured poison, the supply must 
precede and create the demand for them. 

" 5. The use of alcoholic liquors in all ages and nations has been 
proportionate to the public popular facilities for obtaining the same. 

*• From these axioms it follows : that the public grog-shop, by expos- 
ing the liquors for sale and promoting social customs that lead to their 
use, is a school of drunkenness, and for this reason the crusade moved 
against it. Upon any other theory the crusade was unjust, indefensible. 

" The leaders of the organized movement examined closely the theory 
of the crusade. They were to deal with mankind. To understand the 
reform it is necessary to study mankind. 

* ' Man is a social animal. Society is necessary for his development. 
To isolate him is to destroy him as an intellectual being, and to degrade 
him to the level of the brute. The effects of solitary confinement in 
the prisons of France and the United States, the history of persons lost 
on uninhabited islands— all prove that man was created as a social being ; 
that, removed from his fellows, he ceases to be man. Therefore, any 
system of ethics is weak and defective which fails to recognize the dual 
nature of man as an individual responsible to God, and as a social unit 
responsible to society, made necessary by his very nature. Man is de- 
pendent, and his individuality must bend to that fact. Perfect natural 
liberty means liberty in accord with nature. The liberty or licentious- 
ness that has a tendency to destroy society and thereby deprive 
man of social intercourse, which nature has made imperative for his 
development, is opposed to the laws of nature, opposed to God, and 
is therefore wrong. [Applause.] 

" The ability of society to fulfil its high function depends almost 
wholly upon the character of the social units. This hall is a brick 
building. The unit of the structure is the individual brick in the wall. 
The strength of the building depends somewhat upon its form and the 
work done upon it ; but all architectural calculation is based upon the 
strength and durability of the material which is used. Suppose that the 



184 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

architect had drawn the plan, the masterworkman and masons been 
ready to do good work when the material came, and an examination of 
the material had shown it to be poor, weak, soft, would the men have 
gone forward with the building ? No ! The strength of the building 
depends upon the strength of the material, and it would be worse than 
useless to erect a building of weak, poor material. If it would be use- 
less to erect a building of poor material, would it not be criminal to 
allow persons to weaken and destroy the material of a building already 
erected when its destruction means the destruction of the building and 
the thwarting of the purpose for which it was erected ? [Applause.] 

" Society is a structure ; its material, reasonable, ethical human 
beings. Any business or custom which develops or strengthens the 
God-nature of man develops and strengthens society, of which he is a 
part, and the reverse of the picture is equally true. Any business or 
custom which develops the animal nature of man at the expense of the 
intellectual God-nature weakens and degrades society. To fulfil its 
mission society — mankind as a whole — must establish and maintain in- 
stitutions and customs necessary for man's development, comfort, and 
happiness. 

" Trade is a social institution, born of society, developed by society, 
and subject to society, to assist in promoting the interests that necessi- 
tate society. [Applause.] 

" This statement of fundamental truths leads to the axiom : ' The use 
of alcoholic liquors in all ages and nations has been proportionate to 
the public popular facilities for obtaining the same, ' or, in other words, 
on the open alcoholic liquor trade. The alcoholic liquor trade is a 
social institution subject to the social law governing all trade— viz., to 
assist in promoting the interests that necessitate society. True, millions 
of dollars are invested in it, and thousands of men depend upon it for a 
livelihood ; but its magnitude only gives it greater power to do evil, if 
its results are evil. It is entitled to the same protection from society as 
other trades, if its work produces the same social results as other trades. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 185 

Only gravest charges, fully sustained, can justify its destruction ; but if 
charges sufficient are sustained, its very magnitude must bar the dealers 
from pleading the ' baby act ' as an excuse for their crimes. [Applause.] 
The traffic is the act of the dealer, and if it is evil it is his crime ; and to 
talk of the crimes of the traffic is nonsense. The traffic is itself a crime ; 
the dealer can only be held responsible for his traffic as shown by its 
results, but he must come into the people's court and answer for them. 
[Loud applause.] The open bar-room, exposing the supply of liquors 
■with tempting signs and alluring accompaniments, constantly creates a 
demand where no demand existed before. Two men passing along the 
street, with no thought of drinking, see the tempting sign, and step into 
the public popular place and drink ; not that they care to drink, but to 
be social. Several young men enter a saloon to play billiards. They 
do not care for liquor, but ' when they are with Romans they must do 
as Eomans do,' and they drink to be social. The business, outlawed 
and driven into holes, would be followed by the victims it had already 
ruined and chained, but not by the boys of the land who care nothing 
for drink. 

" Drinking, in its incipiency, is the result of social customs ; in its 
advanced stages, of diseased nervous and muscular conditions, which 
create an unnatural craving, falsely called an appetite. The treatment 
of the victim as an individual is one part of the work of the reform, but 
the fact of his relation to society, and society's relation to him, must 
not be lost sight of. If alcoholic drinks injure the user, then they in- 
jure mankind as a whole — society — of which the user is a part, and it is 
a matter of self-defence for society to discourage their use. Granted the 
effects of alcoholic drinks on the habitual user are, primarily, muscular 
and nervous degeneration and disease ; secondarily, weakened intellect, 
sensibility, and will, and it follows that the individual thus injured, 
being a social unit, society must suffer from the use of alcoholic liquors ; 
and that the public bar-room, by stimulating the use, becomes an enemy 
to society, and therefore subject to trial, conviction, and destruction. 



186 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

[Applause.] Society tries men for their acts— institutions for their re- 
sults. If the liquor traffic builds up its customer socially, morally, 
intellectually, and financially, no argument can justify its overthrow ; 
but if it tears down its customer socially, morally, intellectually, and 
financially, no sophistry can justify society in continuing it. [Ap- 
plause.] 

" I hope I have liquor-dealers before me to-day, and if so they will 
please correct me if I misstate the results of their traffic. Four work- 
men were paid off last night. Each received twenty-five dollars. On 
the way home one spent a large part of his money in a dry-goods store, 
one in a boot and shoe store, one in a hardware store, and the other 
commenced last night, and is continuing to-day, to spend it in a saloon. 
Each of these men has a family to provide for and educate. Next Wed- 
nesday we will visit the homes of these men. We enter the home of the 
man who spent his money with the dry-goods merchant, and ask what 
his family received in exchange for his hard-earned dollars. His wife 
would show us the new dresses, and say : ' We needed the clothes, the 
merchant needed the money, so we traded ' — an exchange of values 
benefiting both parties. The same answer, simply varied to the article 
purchased, would be given by the wives of the men who traded at the 
boot and hardware stores ; but when we enter the home of the saloon 
customer to ask, the misery, wretchedness, and poverty would answer 
before the lips could utter the question. The saloon takes material 
values from the customer, and returns something worse than nothing. 
Far better for the man if they had simply robbed him, for then he would 
have had a clear head and sound muscles to go on and provide for his 
family, while by selling him liquor he is temporarily unfitted for work, 
and sent home a maddened brute to abuse and insult those he should 
love and protect. [Is not society bound to protect those helpless ones 
from the outrages of both drinker and seller ?] To illustrate more fully, 
let me ask a liquor-dealer a hypothetical question : Mr. Dealer, suppose 
a young man, standing high in social and business circles, commenced 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 187 

to patronize you to-day, and does so for the next ten years, all the while 
increasing the time spent daily in your saloon and the money spent at 
your bar. At the end of the ten years, what will you have done for that 
man in return for all the money and time he has given you ? Must not 
the dealer answer : ' He would have been better socially, morally, intel- 
lectually, and financially if he had never entered a saloon.' Another, 
please : Suppose a man with a family patronizes you the same way and 
for the same time, what will you do for his family in return for the 
father's money and time ? The answer must be : ' The family would 
have been better off, and the children had a better chance for manhood 
and womanhood, if the father had never entered a saloon.' No liquor- 
dealer dare deny that the whole tendency of the saloon is to degrade its 
customers. [Applause.] The bar-room, under whatever name, is a 
nursery where criminals and paupers are bred — a cradle where vice is 
fondled and rocked. [Applause.] Its path through the ages is stained 
with blood and tears, and made horrible by the countless skeletons of 
its victims, who, decoyed by its influence from the up-hill path of denial 
and duty into the by-way of sensual pleasure and drunkenness, have 
then been dragged, by the cravings of diseased bodies, in disgrace and 
madness to dishonored death. Judged by its own record, the traffic is a 
.curse to all the higher elements of manhood and womanhood, a disgrace 
to our Christian civilization, and an ulcer on the nation's life. [Ap- 
plause.] 

" That the liquor traffic, and the men engaged in it, constantly out- 
rage that part of society not engaged in the traffic follows from what we 
have stated, and the punishment and destruction of the traffic must 
come from the society founded on the relations of right— the State. It 
is the duty of the State to destroy this traffic, and thereby prevent its 
results. [Applause.] * 

"The liquor traffic, being a social institution, has no private rights, 
but is responsible to its creator— mankind, society — for its acts. The 
State must not only guard its own life by preventing the traffic from 



188 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

debauching the units of society, but as an institution of justice it must 
protect innocent third parties from the wrongs of the seller and buyer. 
The wife and babies of the drinker, the taxpayer and sober men liable 
to be assaulted by drunkards, must be protected. To try to settle this 
issue by simply taking into consideration the seller and drinker indi- 
cates a shallow mind and narrow thinker. [Applause.] To say the 
Government cannot destroy a social institution that is an enemy of 
society is to deny the capacity of man for self-government, and no 
loyal citizen will thus challenge the strength and value of Republican 
institutions. [Applause.] 

" To conform to these fundamental truths, and meet the enemy at all 
points, the leaders of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union broad- 
ened their movement, and instead of the single line of attack on the 
saloon, pressed the battle on the line of evangelistic work, juvenile 
work, prison and police work, work among the intemperate, Bible work 
among the Germans, suffrage work, scientific work, work with the col- 
ored people, work in the kitchen garden, circulation of temperance liter- 
ature, work with the soldiers and sailors, work in the Sunday-school, 
and many other lines I have not time to mention — all tending to the 
destruction of the alcoholic liquor traffic. 

" Because they have thus changed, and propose to destroy the traffic 
by developing public intelligence to a point where public opinion, crys- 
tallized into public will— law — shall prevent the traffic, instead of fol- 
lowing the defective methods of the crusade to accomplish the same 
thing, Dr. Dio Lewis issued his bull of December 23d against them, and 
that bull, at the request of Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, of Ohio, I am here 
to examine and answer. 

" Until I undertook this task, I never realized the truth of Lincoln's 
saying, ' It strains a man terribly to kick at nothing.' [Applause.] A 
close examination of Dr. Lewis's speech shows that he bases his attack 
upon the policy of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union upon three 
propositions : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 189 

" 1. The distinction between crime and vice. 

' ' 2. The failure of prohibition. 

" Personal liberty. 

" Let us examine them in their order, because he says : 

" ' Upon the distinction between vice and crime hinges the whole 
theme of prohibition. No one can intelligently consider this important 
subject except iD clear view of this distinction ; ' and if his distinction 
is wrong his whole argument fails. 

"I do not desire to put words which misrepresent him into his 
mouth, as he constantly does into the mouths of Prohibitionists ; so I 
will read from his speech his definition of crime and vice. He says : 

" ' Our errors may be divided into vices and crimes. A vice is a harm 
I do to myself in a mistaken pursuit of happiness. A crime is a harm I 
do to another person with malice prepense. Without this malice prepense, 
or criminal purpose, there can be no crime.' 

' ' To be sure, I understood his definition, I examined his book, ' Pro- 
hibition a Failure,' and find the same statement in different words. He 
wrote : 

" ' A crime must possess three features : 

" ' 1. There must be at least two persons — the actor and the victim. 

" * 2. The act must be committed with evil intent. 

" ' 3. The act must be committed without the consent of the victim.' 

" ' If either of these features be absent the act is not a crime.* 

' ' Having given his definition, he lays down as the basis of his argu- 
ment : 

" ' All crimes, large and small, are justly punished by force or law. 
All vices, large and small, must be treated by reason and persuasion.' 

"It is a little remarkable that a man talking from a Christian stand- 
point should omit from the list of errors ' sin,' as all writers on ethics 
group crime, sin, vice ; but one pauses astonished at his definition and 
its manifest absurdity. 

" A man alone in a wild forest and country could injure only himself, 



190 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

and his errors would be sins, because, alone with himself and his God, 
anything he does that is not in violation of Divine Law as revealed in 
the Bible or written in his own being is right. When man is consid- 
ered as a social being, he is seen to be subject to rules of conduct which 
condemn and prevent many acts, customs, and habits which he would 
have a perfect right to do or practise if he were considered as living by 
himself and for himself. His social right to be educated, to be pro- 
tected, to have his property defended, to have his loved ones protected, 
takes with it the duty to see that others have the same rights, and to 
do nothing to prevent others from enjoying the same rights. Certain 
habits, customs, or acts of his may tend to injure the rights of others. 
To prevent such injury, and to determine his rights and duties as a 
social being, man has established an institution of justice — the State. 
It is evident that there must be some standard by which to judge acts, 
customs, and habits. Dr. Lewis lays down an arbitrary rule. What 
right has he to lay down a rule ? He says : ' It is the distinction of 
common-sense.' Whose common-sense ? Is Dr. Lewis's common-sense 
infallible, and must the world accept its definition when the common- 
sense of the world says, ' It is nonsense ' ? The common-sense and con- 
science of individual man cannot be trusted in determining his own 
social duty. The standard must be the common-sense of the people 
formulated in public opinion written and unwritten. [Applause.] By 
this, habits, acts, and customs are judged and classified as right and 
wrong. The wrong acts, habits, customs are graded by their results as 
vices and crimes. There is and can be no arbitrary rule defining what 
is vice and what is crime. Public opinion alone determines ; and as 
public opinion changes, the definition changes. The thing which was 
not even a vice yesterday may be a crime to-day. Public opinion crys- 
tallized into public will — law — defines what is crime ; public opinion in 
the unwritten law of morals based on Divine Law takes cognizance of 
acts, customs, and habits which the people, though considering bad, do 
not consider dangerous enough to be prohibited as crimes. Then 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 191 

' morals relate to the practice, manners, or conduct of men as social 
beings in relation to each other, as respects right and wrong.' 

" Webster defines vice as ' A moral fault or failing ; especially immoral 
conduct or habit. ' 

" Worcester defines vice as ' Opposite to virtue, an offence against 
morality, or the violation of the moral law.' 

" Lewis says : ' Vice is a harm I do myself in a mistaken pursuit of 
happiness,' and presumed the people were ignorant enough to believe 
him when he said : * This is the distinction of the dictionary.' Ex- 
amine his definition closely. If a young man should freeze his feet 
while going to see his girl, it would be a vice. If a man resting on a 
bluff to enjoy the air should fall and break his arm, it would be a vice. 
If a man going to Europe to study should be shipwrecked, it would be a 
vice. [Applause.] The public would hold any pursuit which injured 
the man to be a mistaken one, and who is to say whether or not the pur- 
suit was a mistaken one ? 

"If Lewis's definition of vice is foolish, his definition of crime is in- 
famous. 

" Webster defines crime as ' Any violation of law, either human or 
Divine ; an omission of duty which is commanded, or the commission 
of an act which is forbidden by law.' 

" Worcester defines crime as ' An infraction of law, but particularly 
of human law, and so distinguished from (not opposed to) sin ; an 
offence against society or against morals as far as they are amenable to 
the laws.' 

"Bouvier's Law Dictionary defines crime as * An act committed or 
omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it.' 

" Blackstone defines crime as ' An act committed or omitted in viola- 
tion of a public law.' 

" The courts hold : ' The vital and preserving principle has been 
adopted that all immoral acts which tend to the prejudice of the com- 
munity are punishable criminally by courts of justice,' and they define 



192 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

crime as ' A wrong which the Government notices as injurious to the public, 
and punishes in what is known as a criminal proceeding.' 

" The scholar knows that ' crime ' is derived from Latin, crimen, a 
judicial decision, and must mean an act committed or omitted in viola- 
tion of law. 

" Dr. Lewis says : ' Crime is a harm I do another person with malice 
prepense. Without malice prepense or criminal purpose there can be no 
crime, ' and as in his definition of vice, presumes that the people are 
ignorant, and says : ' This is the definition of the courts. ' 

" Any man of ordinary intelligence could have told the doctor that 
malice prepense is not necessary to constitute crime. If Dr. Lewis 
should go to Nebraska, and being entirely ignorant of the laws of that 
State, should shoot a prairie chicken in the month of June, he would 
be arrested as a criminal and punished, and his ignorance of the law 
and innocence of all criminal intent would be no defence. The courts 
hold that ignorance of law is no defence, that every man should and is 
supposed to know what the laws are. If Dr. Lewis was a switch-tender, 
and should thoughtlessly leave the switch open, and a train be wrecked 
as the result of his carelessness, he would be tried and punished, and it 
would be no defence to say he did not intend to do it. 

"If a patient suffering from pain, and certain to die in an hour, should 
ask Dr. Lewis to give him something to end his life, and the doctor 
should give it, the law would try and punish him for murder. 

" If Dr. Lewis in a fit of anger should strike a friend and kill him, it 
would be no defence to urge that he did not intend to kill, although it 
would reduce the grade of the crime. [Applause.] 

" Take his definition and apply it : ' The act must be committed with 
malice prepense and without the consent of the victim ' ; then it follows 
that an act committed without malice and with the consent of the victim 
is not crime. This would take polygamy, prostitution, fornication, 
gambling, adultery, lotteries, etc., out of the list of crimes and the 
domain of law, because all these offences are committed with the con- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 193 

sent of both parties, and Dr. Lewis says : ' If either of these features 
are lacking there is no crime.' 

" With Dr. Lewis as law-giver, if a man should seduce your daughter 
it would not be a crime, because she gave her consent ; if a man should 
win your son's money by gambling it would not be crime, because he 
gave his consent. You should not prosecute the seducer or gambler 
criminally, because Dr. Lewis says : ' All vices, large and small, must 
be treated by reason and persuasion.' The doctrine enunciated by Dr. 
Lewis is the doctrine of free-love, polygamy, anarchy ; and if it became 
the controlling doctrine would make America a rascal's paradise. 

" Examine his illustrations and you will see how utterly he fails to 
comprehend his subject. He says : 

" ' No man commits a crime until his nature has been poisoned and 
demoralized by vice.' 

" Every person knows the records of the courts show thousands of 
cases of men who have always been moral men up to the time when pas- 
sion or weakness led them to commit crime. He says : 

* ' ' The Fugitive Slave Law declared it to be a crime to help the pant- 
ing fugitive. No good man believed it was a crime to conceal and feed 
him.' 

"The Fugitive Slave Law was attacked by the Abolitionists, simply 
because it contravened what they considered to be God's law, and they 
held that when human law denned as a crime, what God's law declared 
to be right, the higher law must prevail. Will Dr. Lewis claim that a 
law prohibiting the sale of alcoholic liquors contravenes God's law ? 
and does he follow the proposition that if human law cannot make 
wrong, what God in His revealed law, written in the Bible, and His nat- 
ural law, written in man's body, has declared right, so human law cannot 
make right, what God in the same way has declared wrong ? St. Louis 
passed laws legalizing prostitution, but that did not make prostitution 
right. New York has a law making the liquor traffic legal, but that does 
not make it right, because license laws contravene God's natural and re- 



194 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

vealed laws for man's development as a social being. [Applause.] He 

says : 
" ' Man steps in to punish his fellow-man when these vices develop 

into crimes.' 

1 ' Man as man never punishes his fellow-man. Society, that the trans- 
gressor helped form, punishes him for doing what he, by regulations that 
he as a social unit helped to adopt, prohibited individuals from doing. 
To illustrate : 

" Who is to say when the vice becomes a crime ? He says : ' A vice 
can never be a crime. ' Who is to determine when it ceases to be a vice 
and becomes a crime? Public opinion crystallizes into public will — 
law — and this constantly changes and depends upon the intelligence and 
moral sentiment of the community. Bouvier says : ' With regard to 
adultery, polygamy, and drunkenness, in some communities they are 
regarded as heinous, mala in se ; while in others, owing to perversion of 
moral sentiment by prejudice, education, and custom, they are not even 
mala prohibiia.' The distinction between vice and crime then depending 
upon public sentiment, the expression of that sentiment must determine 
it, and fix its punishment. 

•'He says : 

" ' When, in the field of human conduct, the law has punished crime 
and legal nuisances, it is done. Public sentiment, infinitely more potent 
and vital than law, of which the greatest general of modern times de- 
clared, " I care little for the armies of Europe, but tremble in the pres- 
ence of its public sentiment " — this public sentiment, the synthetic out- 
come of social, moral, and religious forces, all-pervading and irresistible, 
will control all other departments of human life.' 

"What is law? Public opinion crystallized into public will. Who 
passes laws ? The Legislature. Who elect the Legislature ? The people 
and the Legislature express public sentiment. Law is one of the ways 
in which public sentiment expresses itself, and to distinguish between 
law and public sentiment, and make one independent of the other, is to 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 195 

show the ignorance of the person who attempts it. [Applause.] In the 
field of human conduct law defines duty, when it says man shall serve 
on a jury, serve in the militia, pay poll-tax, etc. It defines property 
rights, provides for schools, and does a thousand and one things to better 
the condition of the people and prevent crime. Think of a man of intel- 
ligence saying : * The province of law is to punish crime and legal 
nuisances.' 

" In his defence of the grog-shop, he constantly justifies the seller 
because the buyer consents to the transaction. Society does not at- 
tack the traffic, because it works against the individual as an immortal 
soul, but because it injures mankind as a whole by injuring the in- 
dividual as a social unit ; and it holds the liquor-dealer responsible 
for injuring society by injuring the social unit. The wife and babies of 
the drinker, the pocketbook of the tax-payer, and public order are to 
be protected, and it is no defence for the dealer, responsible to society, 
to plead that the man he made drunk wanted to get drunk. The con- 
sent of the drinker does not release the seller from responsibility for the 
results of his traffic. The dealer is a social being. He is responsible to 
society. He is not compelled to enter the liquor trade. If he does so, 
it is of his own free will, and to release him from responsibility because 
his customer wished to buy, would release the gambler, the keeper of 
the house of ill-fame, the manager of lotteries, and the printer of obscene 
literature. [Applause.] 

" But as one does not need to demonstrate that two and two make 
four, so one does not need to take time to expose his foolish definition 
of crime and vice. It is contradicted by the dictionaries, courts of law, 
and the common-sense of an intelligent people. [Applause.] 

" In his second proposition, ' Prohibition a Failure,' he presents 
nothing new. It is the argument that has been used by the liquor-dealers 
for years. He writes from the standpoint of ten years ago, beyond which 
point he has not advanced. 

" It must be remembered — 



196 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

"1. That during the Civil War, while public attention was taken up 
with the great question of national existence, the drunkenness and im- 
morality resulting from the war enabled the illicit liquor-sellers in sev- 
eral States to destroy prohibitory laws, and in other States to prevent 
their enforcement, until the excitement of the ' Reconstruction period ' 
passed, and a moral reaction came. To say that during that period 
liquor-sellers were able to destroy prohibitory laws and defy their en- 
forcement, is not an argument against the law, but an argument against 
the patriotism of liquor-sellers. 

" 2. That Prohibitionists do not claim law will accomplish the whole 
work, any more than the law against adultery will make men moral, or 
the law against gambling will make men honest. They simply claim : 
* It is the duty of the State to make it easy for men to be good, difficult 
for men to be bad.' In no States where prohibition has been adopted 
have temperance workers given up the work of picking up fallen men 
and educating public sentiment. 

"3. In a State where license is granted, public sentiment will not 
justify punishing the drinker and not the seller. The rule of arrests in 
license cities is : *■ Arrest no drunken man until he is helpless or disturbs 
the public' In these cities the drinker is allowed to sleep off his drunk 
in the bar-room before he goes on the street. In prohibitory States 
where public sentiment makes it a crime to sell, it is a crime to get 
drunk. There is no place where the drinker can sleep off his drunk ; 
the dealer dare not have him around, as it would lead to a detection of 
the illicit sale, hence drunkenness in a prohibitory city or State is seen, 
and as the drunken man is a valuable witness against an outlaw, he is 
always arrested. Not one in ten of the men who get drunk in license 
cities are arrested. Not one in ten of the men who get drunk in pro- 
hibitory cities escapes arrest. One might as well argue that because 
there has been during the past year more arrests for gambling in Mis- 
souri, where the offence is a felony, than in New York, where it is a 
misdemeanor, the law making gambling a felony is a failure, as to argue 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 197 

that because drunken men are arrested in prohibitory States, prohibition 
is a failure. A public sentiment that condemns and punishes drunken- 
ness is the best indication of the success of the law. 

' ' Dr. Lewis attacks the working of the law in Massachusetts, and 
says : 

" ' There were, at the end of twenty-four years of prohibition, includ- 
ing those drug-stores where drinks could be purchased without difficulty, 
groceries, many of which sold by the drink, and all of which sold by the 
bottle — including these, with the saloons, there were in Boston almost 
five thousand places where intoxicating drinks could be purchased with- 
out let or hindrance. ' 

" The issue raised by this statement is one of fact. 

" The Constable of the Commonwealth, in his second annual report, 
says : * Up to the 6th of November, 1867, there was not an open bar 
known in the entire State, and the open retail liquor traffic had almost 
entirely ceased.' 

" Mr. Louis Schade, Agent of the American Brewers' Congress, says : 
' Had our friends in Massachusetts been free to carry on their business, 
and had not the State authorities constantly interfered, there is no doubt 
that instead of showing a decrease of 116,585 barrels in one year, they 
would have increased at the same rate they did the preceding year.' 

* ' Hon. Robert C. Pitman, Judge of the Superior Court, says : ' The 
law was repealed for its efficiency.' 

" If you have any doubt as to which you shall believe, Dr. Lewis or 
the other eminent men quoted, an examination of the doctor's state- 
ments in regard to Maine may help you to determine. He grants that 
personally he can testify to the success of the law. But he set out to 
prove prohibition a failure, and says : 

*' ' But at Augusta I obtained a recent report of the State Prison In- 
spectors of Maine, from which I learned that, during the year, 17,808 
persons had been arrested in the State for street drunkenness. This 
was an official report, by prohibition officers.' 



198 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" If the statement were true, it, for the reasons before given, "would 
not prove prohibition a failure. An examination of the State prison 
reports of Maine convinced me it was not true ; but to be certain, I 
wrote to the State Prison Inspector of Maine, and he replied : 

" * Augusta, Me., January 30, 1881 

" ' Dear Sie : In reply to yours of the 28th inst., asking for the number 
of arrests for drunkenness last year, will say that the reports of the in- 
spectors of the State prisons do not give the information referred to. 
During my term of service no such information has been given in oar 
annual reports, and I may add it is no part of our duties as inspectors of 
State prisons and jails. 

« i Very respectfully, 

4 *'H. S. Osgood, 
" ' One of the Inspectors of State Prisons and Jails.' 

" You ask me upon what Dr. Lewis could base his statement ? I find 
included in the report of the inspectors, a report from the jails of Maine, 
which shows the total number of commitments for drunkenness in the 
entire State daring 1882, to have been eight hundeed and nine. If this 
is what Dr. Lewis meant, he should have used the last report, not one 
ten years old. To refuse to use the figures of to-day, because they con- 
tradict his theory, and use the figures of ten years ago, because he thinks 
they sustain his theory, does not speak well for the fairness or candor of 
the advocate. 

"Notice he arraigns prohibition in Maine as a failure, because it does 
close the saloons ; in Massachusetts, because it does not. 

" He claims that closing the saloons, increases secret drinking, and a 
worse condition than open saloons, and at the same time advocates the 
Woman's Crusade to close the saloons. 

" Prohibition wherever honestly tried has been a success, and never in 
any place as great a failure as license laws. Mr. Lewis might as well 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 199 

cite the case of Frank James in Missouri, to prove the law prohibiting 
murder a failure, or the case of a Mormon in Utah, to prove the law 
against bigamy a failure, as to cite the cases of Parker and Young to 
prove prohibition a failure. The facts are, that on one of the juries was 
a liquor-dealer, while on both of them were drinkers who were custom- 
ers of the defendants. Do not understand me to say Dr. Lewis wilfully 
misstated the facts, but that in his anxiety to prove prohibition a failure 
he has placed himself in a position that no honest seeker after truth 
should occupy. 

"In stating his third proposition, Dr. Lewis grants that his other 
propositions are false ; for if prohibition is a failure, how can it inter- 
fere with personal liberty ? How can a failure do what Dr. Lewis claims 
its success would do ? 

" He proceeds to define terms with the same recklessness as before. 
He says : 

" ' Personal liberty is the source of all progress, the lever of all con- 
quests, the inspiration of all achievements, the precious jewel of the 
ages.' 

" I might say, personal liberty is what enables the murderer to kill, 
the thief to steal, the villain to outrage your wife and daughter. It frees 
the knife of the assassin, the club of the murderer, the cord of the 
strangler, the torch of the incendiary. It has been the inspiration of 
debauchery, vice, and crime, the curse of peaceable men. If I said this 
I should be as near right as he is in his statement. "What is true per- 
sonal liberty ? He indicates it when he says : 

" ' The greatest " public good " that any government is capable of, is to 
secure to each and every individual the full and free enjoyment of all 
his natural rights of person and property.' 

" By natural rights, of course he means rights in accord with man's 
nature as a social being. These rights are to be secured against en- 
croachments by other individuals ; by the restraint of their personal 
liberty to do as they please, to take what they please. This protection 



200 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

is given by the will of society — law ; without law there is no true liberty. 
In the words of a great thinker (Dr. Lieber) : 

" ' Liberty, like everything else of a political character, necessary and 
natural to man and to be striven for, arises out of the development of 
society. Man, in that supposed state of natural liberty, which is noth- 
ing but a roving state, is, on the contrary, in a state of great submission. 
He is a slave and servant of the elements. Matter masters his mind. 
He is exposed to the wrongs of every enemy from without, and depend- 
ent upon his own unregulated mind. That is not liberty. It is plain 
barbarism. Liberty is materially of a civil character. 
. •" ' Where men of whatsoever condition — rulers or ruled, those that 
toil or those that enjoy, individually, or by entire classes or nations — 
claim, maintain, or establish rights without acknowledging correspond- 
ing and parallel obligations, there is oppression, lawlessness, and dis- 
order, and the very ground on which the idea of all right must forever 
res t — the ground of mutuality or reciprocity, whether considered in the 
light of ethics or natural law, must sink from under it. It is natural, 
therefore, that wherever there exists a greater knowledge of right or 
more intense attention to it than to concurrent and proportionate obli- 
gations, evil ensues. What may there be found d priori is pointed out 
by history as one of its gravest and greatest morals. The very condition 
of right is obligation. The only reasonableness of obligations consists 
in rights. Since, therefore, a greater degree of civil liberty implies the 
enjoyment of more extended acknowledged rights, man's obligations 
increase with man's liberty. Let us then call that freedom of action 
which is determined and limited by the acknowledgment of obligation, 
liberty ; freedom of action without limitation by obligation, licentious- 
ness. The greater the liberty the more the duty.' 

" The statement that man has no rights as a member of society that 
are not individual rights, he would find to be nonsense if he as an indi- 
vidual Christian tried to vote in a church of which he was not a member 
or in a State where he was an alien. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 201 

" The prohibition of the liquor traffic is not an interference with true 
personal liberty, and as Dr. Lewis does not say it is, but simply implies 
it, it is hard to imagine why he introduced the subject. 

" Thus, it is plainly seen that his three primary propositions fail be- 
cause they have neither principle nor fact to sustain them ; consequently 
his attack upon the Woman's Christian Temperance Union is without 
cause. The motive is not apparent, but the liquor papers endorse the 
speech, and that interest is the only one benefited by it. 

" His sneer at Prohibitionists — 

" * Mesolved, That the Almighty has given the government of the world 
into the hands of His saints. 

" * Resolved, That we are His saints — ' 
he should have placed in quotation marks, and I must say it is below 
the level of manly discussion, and can only be answered by saying that 
any man who would stoop to such a fling would probably start in this 
way: 

1 Resolved, That the Almighty has given all intelligence to one man. 
'Resolved, I am the man.' [Applause.] 

1 ' For a moment let us glance at some of his absurdities. He says : 

!i * The right to drink includes the right to buy.' 

" True, but does not include the right to compel the people to furnish 
a man to sell. The right to cut off your hand does not include the right 
to insist that government shall make it easy for you to get the axe. 
[Applause.] Man's right to degrade and ruin himself does not include 
the right to insist that a government based upon his intelligence and 
manhood shall furnish him the means to ruin his intelligence and man- 
hood. To make such a claim is to claim that individual man has a right 
to make the Government commit suicide, and by so doing fail to pro- 
tect the interests of thousands. [Applause.] 

" He defines positively ' a legal nuisance,' and uses the word ' legal ' 
in speaking of rights. Legal rights and legal nuisances change as the 
law defining them changes. 



202 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" A * legal ' nuisance is a nuisance declared to be so by law. Any- 
thing law declares to be a nuisance is a ' legal ' nuisance. If law declares 
the grog-shop a nuisance, it is a ' legal ' nuisance. 

* ' He says : 

" 4 "We have as clear a right to suppress a nuisance as to defend our- 
selves against a personal assault. 

" * The Salvation Army may preach the strangest absurdities— it is not 
a legal nuisance ; but if they shout in the streets and gather a crowd, 
even while preaching the most sacred truths, it is a nuisance.' 

" If this is true, how does he defend the Woman's Crusade, for the 
ladies did sing and pray in the streets, and immense crowds gathered ? 

" He says : 

" ' A vigorous prosecution of adulterations would give such a blow to 
the liquor traffic in a year, as it will never get from the present methods 
of prohibition.' 

" Laws against the adulteration of liquors have been on the statute 
books of different States for years, and have proved utterly inoperative. 
If Dr. Lewis believes what he says, why does he not go to work and 
organize a movement to prosecute adulterations instead of wasting his 
powers by attacking the policy of other workers ? Does he mean to be 
understood that Prohibitionists are the only honest workers, when he 
says: 

" ' Prohibitionists miss their great opportunity in not prosecuting 
adulterations ? ' 

" Why not anti-Prohibitionists as well ? If Dr. Lewis believes in his 
theory, why does he not put it in practice ? He has large means, and 
all good men will co-operate with him. If he can only prove he is right, 
the world will accept his theory. I find no record of any attempt of his 
to put his theory in practical operation. If anti-Prohibitionists are 
honest, why do they not use their energies in making their theories 
work, instead of attacking workers who differ from them ? It may be 
well enough to say that men who furnish drunkard-makers ammunition 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 203 

to fire at the homes of this country are honest men in thus dealing with 
this question, but I have neither sympathy for, nor confidence in a man 
whose utterances are constant] y quoted by the drunkard-makers of this 
country, and who devotes his time to attacking temperance workers. If 
he is an honest worker the liquor-sellers will fight, not quote him. A 
man who attacks the Woman' s Christian Temperance Union and apolo- 
gizes for liquor-sellers is not the kind of a temperance worker this coun- 
try needs to-day. 

" Notice the spirit shown throughout his entire speech, by his placing 
in the mouths of Prohibitionists words which no Prohibitionist ever 
uttered ; and then having set up a man of straw, proceed to knock him 
down ' with great power, amid the laughter of the audience, ' and there is not 
a drunkard-maker in New York City who would not laugh at and applaud 
his speech. 

" But his most laughable blunder is when he tries to put an incorrect 
statement in the mouth of a Prohibitionist, and makes one in answering 
it. He says : 

'* ' Another Prohibitionist speaks of an old maxim : " The public good 
is the supreme law." I have never heard of such a maxim, but I have 
that " The public safety is the supreme law." ' 

" The maxim is, ' Salus populi suprema lex,' and means : that regard 
for the public welfare is the supreme law. The courts hold : ' This 
maxim applies to cases in which the Legislature ob publicam utili- 
tatem sometimes enacts very stringent provisions for purposes of general 
public good, involving great restrictions upon particular classes of men.' 

" In knocking down his man of straw he makes this additional blun- 
der : ' The only object and duty of the Legislature is to protect the 
rights of the individuals who constitute the public' The poorest stu- 
dent in the science of government knows the object and duty of the Leg- 
islature is to formulate public opinion into public will ; that they have 
no power or authority to enforce the laws they pass ; that they cannot 
even protect themselves, much less the public, and that enforcement of 



204 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

law and protection of individuals belongs to other departments of gov- 
ernment. 

" But worse than anything yet noticed is the false assumption upon 
which his whole structure of reckless statements rests — viz., that the 
"Woman's Christian Temperance Union, by seeking to utilize public will 
— law — to prevent the teaching of vice, has abandoned religious methods. 
The assumption is false, cowardly, and how any intelligent man can 
make it, passes my comprehension. 

" The religious thought of the crusade was faith that asked God to do 
the work ; the religious thought of the Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union is faith that asks God to direct each woman to use all the powers 
He has given her to stay the evils of intemperance, and trusts Him to 
do what is beyond her power. The one prayer was : ' Father, on our 
knees we plead with Thee to remove this plague.' The other prayer is : 
1 Father, use us and guide, and direct, and help us to remove this 
plague.' There was never a time, in all the history of this wonderful 
movement, when woman felt more her dependence on God than at the 
present hour. 

" As I stand here this afternoon, memory turns back the pages of the 
book of months, and I stand again in headquarters at Cleveland, in the 
midst of the struggle for constitutional outlawry of the liquor traffic. I 
see gathered in the parlors the great leader and her aides. I listen as 
the voice of prayer ascends, asking the loving Father to guide and direct. 
The service closes, and I see the leader, pale and worn from overwork, 
take her place at her desk to write her assistants in the field. I look 
over her shoulder and read. She is writing one who, with weary body 
and brain, is homesick for wife and baby living in a distant State. She 
writes : ' Kemember we never forget you in our prayers. May God give 
you health and strength.' 

" Another leaf is turned, and I am at Belief ontaine, O., in the State 
Convention of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. A question 
on which members differ is being discussed. The debate grows warm, 






THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 205 

and something like bitterness creeps into the words. How quick the 
leader's ear catches the sound, and, ' Ladies, had we not better ask God 
to guide us in this matter? Mrs. Smith, will you lead us in prayer? ' 
turns the discussion back into the channel of Christian love and charity. 

" Again, the turning leaf takes me to Lake Bluff, and in the soft hush 
of a Sabbath afternoon I listen to the national leader of the movement 
— a womanly woman, of highest culture and scholarly attainments, who 
has given up the comforts of home, the pleasant companionship of her 
books, the society of loved friends, and through summer's heat and 
winter's cold toiled on, given her life, her all, for poor fallen humanity. 
1 Why has she done this ? ' Listen, while lips and face struggle to con- 
ceal her emotion, as she tells how her call to her work came in the dying 
words of an idolized sister : ■ Frances, tell everybody to be good.' From 
the meetings of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which I have 
attended, come floating to me, like the music of an angelic symphony, 
the notes of woman's prayer and faith and hope. Surely God has led 
and directed them. 

" But hark ! the music is interrupted by a sound like a cracked cow- 
bell, which says : 

" ' It is maddening to see people trying to push into the arena of 
social, moral, and religious struggles, civil law, with its "all thumbs," 
and neglect agencies a thousand times stronger.' 

" Dr. Lewis knows that the Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
has not abated one jot or tittle of its religious or educational work, and 
in his effort to throw distrust on their present work and parade himself 
as ' the only and original Christian temperance worker,' his language in 
the sentence quoted shows the ears of the real person, ' Maddening.' 

" What Christian patience and meekness ! Contrast his Christian 
meekness and humility with one of these women whom he criticises. 

" At the close of the Ohio campaign, Mrs. Woodbridge, the great 
leader of the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union, wrote me : 
e God has done wonderful things in Ohio. All praise to His holy name.' 



206 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" Speaking of the crusade, Dr. Lewis says ; 

" ' As the originator of the " Woman's Crusade," I have made a deeper 
impression upon the cause of temperance than has been made by any 
other single individual upon the planet.' 

" I leave it to you, ladies and gentlemen, to say whether such self- 
forgetfulness and self-abnegation entitles Dr. Lewis to the position of a 
religious critic of the noblest band of women the world ever saw. 
[Laughter and applause.] 

" But I have already taken too much of your time with this review, of 
what would need no review if accident had not placed its author in a 
position where his utterances might be mistaken for the utterances of a 
temperance man, and as I close, you may ask : * Will prohibition win ? ' 
During the Bellefontaine Convention, which I have before mentioned, 
I was returning with my wife to the" hotel from a session of the conven- 
tion, when she said : * Did you ever think that when a principle became 
a part of the religion of such women, the only way to kill the principle 
would be to destroy the women ? ' There was a time when the temper- 
ance movement was largely the struggle of a few poor victims of the 
traffic to free themselves. That day has passed. The reform has be- 
come a part of the religious faith of this nation, and in spite of all the 
sophistries and work of the drunkard -makers and their aiders and abet- 
tors, the day is not far distant when a State will no sooner license a 
man to carry on a business to debauch the loved ones of the women of 
this land, than it will license a man to steal the jewels from their jewel- 
cases. [ Appl ause. ] 

" The time will come when the children of the man who now wins 
the approval and applause of the drunkard-makers by attacking these 
women who are struggling to protect their homes and loved ones, will 
ask his biographer to leave the dark page out of the record of an other- 
wise useful life." [Loud applause.] 



CHAPTER VIII. 



GOOD TEMPLAK LEADERSHIP. 



" Guard the Faith." 
" Truth shall prevail." 

The two last passwords given out by Mr. Much. 

A T the session of the Grand Lodge held in the city of 
-^- Lincoln, January 15th and 16th, 1879, Mr. Finch 
was unanimously elected to the office of Grand Counsellor, 
the second office in the gift of the body. At the same ses- 
sion Mrs. Finch was elected General Superintendent of 
Juvenile Temples, and during the following five months 
she initiated over one thousand children into this branch of 
the Order. 

Most of the work of Mr. Finch during the year which 
followed, was intended to direct public attention to the con- 
stitutional amendment plan of voting out the liquor busi- 
ness. While continuing pledge-signing as a prominent 
feature of his meetings, he gave more and more attention 
to the legal aspects of the question. 

Mrs. Alice A. Minick graphically describes an incident 
in the work at Brownville, and sums up some of the bene- 
fits to society from his visit. 



208 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" In January, 1879, Mr. Finch delivered nine lectures to large and 
attentive audiences. Hundreds signed the iron-clad pledge and wore 
the red ribbon ; the Good Templar Lodge was strengthened ; a strong 
Temple of Honor was organized, and a city library and reading-room 
established. Mrs. Finch gathered one hundred and twenty children 
into a Juvenile Temple ; afternoon prayer-meetings were held, in which 
Mr. Finch and the clergymen and Christian people participated. 

" The lectures were given in a hall on the third floor, a narrow and 
steep stairway being the only means of access. On the evening of the 
last lecture the hall was filled to its utmost capacity, nearly every home 
in Brownville being represented. Mr. Finch appeared full of that force 
and fire which had won the hearts of the people. His convincing argu- 
ments were greeted with frequent applause. 

" Suddenly some one cried, ' Fire ! fire ! The building is on fire ! ' 

" A panic followed. Strong men guarded the door to prevent loss of 
life by crowding the narrow stairway. Mothers and children wept to- 
gether. Some knelt in prayer, others fainted, and a few attempted to 
leap from the windows, while some despairing ones begged Mr. Finch 
to save them. Above the din and confusion of the surging crowd his 
clarion voice could be heard urging the people to be calm. It was soon 
discovered that a lamp had exploded, and the flame was smothered. As 
soon as this fact was announced, Mrs. Finch stepped upon a chair, and 
sang ' Hold the Fort,' the audience joining in singing as they returned 
to their seats. 

■' Mr. Finch resumed his speech, usiDg the incident with wonderful 
effect to illustrate the conflagration of strong drink. 

" In the years that have followed, this champion reformer, in the vigor 
of his manhood, equipped with the armor of righteousness and the 
shield of truth, has ever led fearlessly where the fire of battle raged 
fiercest, until he fell with victory just in sight, leaving a heritage of 
honor won by self-sacrifice and consecrated devotion to principle and 
truth.' ' 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 209 

Similar meetings, marked by great enthusiasm, and by 
deeper convictions daily growing in the popular mind, 
were held throughout the State. Grand Island, Central 
City, Clarksville, Beatrice, Brownville, Nemaha, Peru, 
Tekamah, North Platte, Blair, Red Cloud, Bloomington, 
Osceola, Syracuse, and many other towns and cities were 
visited and the dormant temperance forces roused to active 
effort, while hundreds of recruits from the ranks of the 
enemy were enlisted. 

A great change had been wrought in the sentiment of the 
people since Mr. Finch, unknown and unheralded, arrived 
in the State two years before. His friends claimed and his 
enemies bitterly admitted that much of the improvement 
and development of radical ideas was due to his tireless 
energy and activity. 

From the day that he began pleading for prohibitory liquor 
laws and reasoning concerning the justice and necessity of 
such legislation, the people of the State began asking of 
themselves and of their neighbors why they were not per- 
mitted to decide the question by a popular vote, 

A weapon that comes down as still 
As snow-flakes fall upon the sod ; 

But executes a freeman's will, 
As lightning does the will of God. 

In January, 1880, Mr. Finch was elected Grand Chief 
Templar of Nebraska. From that time forward for two 
years he studied and labored steadily for the advancement 



210 1HE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

of the Order that he loved. He gave to the lodges the 
inspiration of his presence, and always responded to their 
calls for help. His warm sympathy with them in every 
hour of difficulty and discouragement won the hearts of the 
entire membership. His achievements in the Red Ribbon 
work, which had won him so great a name, made the Good 
Templars proud of their matchless leader. 

He defended the Order against all assailants. To those 
who ridiculed or sneered he pointed to the splendid record 
of noble deeds wrought by the Order and its faithful 
workers. The slanderers who sought to disparage Good 
Templary by falsehood and misstatement were confronted 
with his sword of Truth wielded by an unsparing hand. 

In a country school-house in Central Nebraska a good 
lodge had been established, and had interested several men 
who specially needed the influence of such an institution. 

There also existed in the same community a church 
organization of a religious body who make opposition to 
secret societies one of their principal tenets. There had 
been no clash between the lodge and the church until a 
travelling elder came to hold revival meetings, which were 
quite successful in reforming some very rough men. Mem- 
bers of the lodge had steadily attended the church services 
and aided in every way in their power. In one of the 
closing sermons the elder took occasion to warn everybody 
against the Good Templars, saying that candidates were 
initiated with ropes around their necks, and were compelled 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 211 

to assume frightful obligations, sealed by horrible oaths, 
and many other things equally false and absurd, clinching 
his mendacious declarations with the statement that he had 
been a member and knew the facts to be as he had stated 
them. 

The preaching of this utterly baseless fabrication aroused 
the just indignation of the Good Templars. They imme- 
diately wrote for Mr. Finch, and he promptly came to 
their rescue. Notices of his coining having been exten- 
sively circulated, a large and excited crowd gathered at the 
appointed hour. 

Some of the partisans of the minister were intensely 
angry, and some of the new converts, not yet schooled in 
Christian gentleness, threatened dire vengeance on Mr. 
Finch if he dared to reflect on their pastor. 

Mr. Finch commenced his speech by calmly stating the 
plans and objects of Good Templary and explaining its 
system of work. He recited the pledge required and ex- 
plained that all the secrecy of the Order consisted of simple 
signs and passwords, then repeated the words the minister 
had used in denouncing the Order, and added : 

" Such a statement is utterly and entirely false, and was 
made with the knowledge that it was false." 

The pretended evangelist was present, and starting to his 
feet, demanded : 

" Do you mean to say that I lie V ' 

" Did you say," asked Mr. Finch, " that Good Templars 



212 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

lead candidates about the room with a rope around their 
necks ?" 

" I said something like that," was the response. 

" Did jou say they required initiates to take frightful 
oaths?" 

"Yes." 

' ' Did you say you had been a member of a Good Tem- 
plar lodge and knew all about it ?" 

"Yes." 

" Why did you lie ?" calmly asked Mr. Finch. 

" 1 had a purpose in it," was the testy answer. 

" No doubt you had," responded Mr. Finch ; " but it 
was the purpose of a hypocrite and a slanderer ; the pur- 
pose of a deceiver and an impostor." 

At this moment one of the new converts jumped into the 
room through a window and ran toward Mr. Finch, carry- 
ing a big club in his hands in a threatening manner and 
declaring with an oath : 

" You sha'n't call my preacher a liar, even if he does 
lie!" 

Regardless of personal danger — as was ever the case with 
him — Mr. Finch turned his back on the would-be assailant, 
and coolly pointing behind him, asked the alleged minister : 

"Is this brute a specimen of the results of your system 
of religious training ?" 

No one replied. The man with the club slunk away and 
quiet reigned. Mr. Finch continued his defence of Good 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 213 

Templary without further interruption, and at the close of 
his address several names were proposed for admission to 
the lodge. 

While always ready to defend the Order against the 
attacks of its enemies, Mr. Finch would not permit the 
lodges to be aggressors. He urged them to work in perfect 
harmony with the Christian churches, and give time, 
money, and strength to the advancement of all moral and 
religious work. 

It is sufficient evidence of the fraternal feeling between 
the regular pastors of the State and himself that wherever 
he remained over Sunday in any town or city he received 
the most cordial invitations to occupy the pulpits for both 
morning and evening service, if he would consent to the 
arrangement. 

During his two years' administration as head of the 
Order of Good Templars in Nebraska, he brought the 
organization more prominently before the people than ever 
before in its history. He roused the membership to activity 
in every direction. Every lodge stood ready to prosecute 
violators of the license law ; to carry on a no-license cam- 
paign for a village or city ; to conduct temperance revivals ; 
to circulate petitions for the submission of amendments, or 
to battle for State and national prohibition. 

After two years of laborious service for the Order he was 
unanimously re-elected at the Hastings session of the Grand 
Lodge in January, 1882, but he peremptorily declined, 



214 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Upon his retirement from the position of Grand Chief 
Templar a very fine gold watch and chain were presented 
to him with an appropriate speech. The gift was from the 
Good Templars throughout the State. 

Activity in State work did not prevent him from study- 
ing plans for the broader work of the whole Order. As 
chairman of the Literature Committee of the Eight Worthy 
Grand Lodge from 1880 to 1884 he wrought the impress of 
his ideas into the management of many jurisdictions. Cir- 
culars and letters were sent to all the lodges explaining the 
plans he had formed for the circulation of temperance 
books and periodicals, and urging that immediate steps be 
taken to secure aid in disseminating the truth more widely 
through the medium of these publications. 

The plan of a literature collection, to be taken by the 
lodges throughout the whole Order on a certain week in 
November, was suggested and formulated into a by-law by 
him, and unanimously adopted by the highest body in Good 
Templary. This system is still in force, and has enabled 
the Order to make large and valuable contributions of 
printed matter for use in the contests against the liquor 
power and for constitutional prohibition in the various 
States. Millions of pages of documents have been thus dis- 
tributed. 

Other interests were not forgotten in his zeal for the 
wide dissemination of good and helpful literature. He 
urged the importance of a revenue sufficient to enable the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 215 

Eight Worthy Grand Lodge to send skilled workers into 
every weak jurisdiction. By his persistent demands the 
attention of the Order was drawn to this question, and an 
improved financial system adopted, by which several 
workers have been employed each year to go to the rescue 
of declining grand lodges and save them from dismember- 
ment. 

It would be impossible to estimate the amount of good 
accomplished by these plans, which became doubly efficient 
w T hen Mr. Finch was elected chief executive of the Order 
and empowered to superintend personally the working of 
each department. 

At the session of the Eight Worthy Grand Lodge in 
Chicago, in 1883, he was nominated for the highest official 
position in the whole Order, and only lacked three votes of 
a majority. This was the first time his name had ever been 
presented for any elective office in that body, although he 
had been chairman of important committees. 

At the Washington session of the body in 1884 Mr. Finch 
was again nominated for the office of Eight Worthy Grand 
Templar, and was elected, more than two thirds of all the 
votes cast being in his favor. 

On the day of his election he said to Mr. Sib- 
ley : 

" Frank, I will see the whole Order reunited before I 
leave this position." 

The possibility of so grand an achievement seemed very 



216 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

remote, and the hope of its accomplishment had long been 
abandoned by nearly the entire membership. 

In 1 876 several grand lodges, whose aggregate* member- 
ship exceeded two hundred and iifty thousand, left the 
parent body and continued work as an independent organ- 
ization, almost identical in its name, policy, rituals, constitu- 
tions, and plans of work. The prospect of reunion was 
more doubtful, because the membership of the separate 
organizations was largely in different countries, the majority 
of the original body being in America, while most of the 
new branch were in Great Britain, and national pride was 
made a pretext to widen the breach between them. 

For more than five years after the separation various 
methods to secure reunion were tried without success. 
Negotiations failed, and an extensive and costly system of 
proselyting and attempts at organizing by each within the 
territory of the other, adopted by both divisions, was equally 
unsuccessful. In the eight years that had followed the 
division there had been no time when the prospect of har- 
monizing the different sections of the Order seemed more 
shadowy and distant than at the date of the election of Mr. 
Finch as chief executive of the Eight Worthy Grand 
Lodge. 

Understanding most fully this general feeling of hope- 
lessness concerning reunion, which permeated the member- 
ship, he was too wise to reveal his sanguine purpose to any 
one save a few most intimate friends, and even they, with 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 217 

all their confidence in his power to win success, found it 
impossible to catch the inspiration of his faith in this direc- 
tion. 

At each of the annual sessions of the body — in 1885 at 
Toronto, Ontario, and in 1886 at Richmond, Ya. — Mr. 
Finch was unanimously re-elected. 

Very soon after his first election he began a correspond- 
ence with leaders of the independent branch to ascertain 
their views concerning reunion. "With some interruptions, 
this correspondence was continued till his cherished plan 
was consummated. 

In the spring of 1886 Mr. Finch began a more active 
correspondence concerning reunion. The idea that it was 
possible was very firmly fixed in his mind, and the deter- 
mination to achieve it took possession of his energies and 
concentrated his thoughts upon plans and methods. 

When he should have rested from his platform labors, in 
his occasional weeks at home, he spent his days and many 
nights in writing long letters of pleading, of argument, of 
explanation, to the leaders of both branches of the Order, 
begging them to forget past prejudices and differences 
and break down the barriers that separated the two divi- 
sions of the great fraternity. 

So strong was his desire for success and so intense his 
anxiety, that he would sometimes pause and look up from a 
half- written letter, saying to Mrs. Finch : 

" Puss, I am afraid we shall fail." 



218 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

But the invariable answer was : 

" No, you will not fail. 1 have faith that, after all the 
work you have done, you will succeed." 

Cheered by her words, he would bend again to his task 
and pen page after page in silence, closing his day or night 
of work with a cheery hopefulness, which alone could have 
sustained him. 

Sometimes on these visits to his home Mrs. Finch would 
insist that he needed rest and must, for his own safety, 
desist from working so much. For an hour or more he 
would act on the advice, going out for a walk, sprinkling 
the lawn, or attending to some minor duty. 

But the restless brain would still revolve his plans and 
hopes, and he would soon return to his desk. 

A letter from Joseph Malins, who was regarded in 
America as the master spirit in the separatist movement, 
indicates how industriously Mr. Finch sought to bring all 
the Templars in the world into one magnificent organization. 

" My first correspondence with John B. Finch was nearly three years 
ago, when we failed to understand each other. Correspondence was 
resumed in 1886, when he had fairly begun to set his mind for the ac- 
complishment of reunion. I can now see many things which were done 
that summer to pave the way, and I cannot doubt that these were initi- 
ated or influenced by his far-seeing mind. His correspondence indi- 
cated no approach to assumption or dictation, but there was running 
through it all a quiet consciousness of strength which was quite im- 
pressive. 

' ' His industry surprised me. Amid his travel and work I marvelled 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 219 

how he, with his own hand, wrote such long and thoughtful letters. In 
no way did he follow just the beaten paths of predecessors, who had, 
nevertheless, worthily led the Order. There was a freshness about his 
methods exactly compatible with that youthful, clean-cut appearance and 
demeanor, which so favorably struck one at the very first moment of 
meeting. 

"He was firm, and yet did not believe in trammelling with red-tape. 
He was frank, yet could keep his own counsel and bide his time. Alto- 
gether he was a keen, pleasing, genuine, and exceptionally fine specimen 
of the very best side of young America— a type of man whom all who love 
their country would pray to see multiplied." 

The letters of Mr. Finch to Mr. Malins are replete with 
evidences of his intense earnestness and devotion to the 
interests of truth and justice, and to the welfare of the 
race. He had a keen perception of America's social con- 
ditions and needs, and a thorough understanding of the 
difficulties in the way of the adoption of his plans of re- 
union. He fully comprehended that in the minds of the 
British Templars there existed a firm, though mistaken 
conviction that American Templars failed to do justice to 
the negro race. He knew, too, that in the United States 
the broad charity and warm sympathy of the whole Order 
had taught every Good Templar the lesson that 

" Pity and need 
Make all flesh kin. There is no caste in blood, 
Which runneth of one hue, nor caste in tears, 
Which trickle salt with all ; neither comes man 
To birth with tilka-mark stamped on the brow, 
Nor sacred thread on neck." 



220 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Not knowing just how the misapprehensions of the Tem- 
plars of two continents were to be set right, he felt that 
there must be some way to solve the problem, and that, 
with the help of God, he would find the true solution. 
Concessions, if they involved no sacrifice of principle, he 
was willing to make, but on matters of conscience and jus- 
tice he stood as inflexible as iron. Mere pride he cast to 
the winds, preferring to yield something rather than to 
permit the glory of a universal brotherhood to be sullied 
by international dissensions. 

Far-seeing statesmanship and shrewd diplomacy are nicely 
intermingled in the following letters : 

" Evanston, III., April 6, 1886. 
" Joseph Malins, P. B. W. G. C. 

" Dear Sir and Brother : Two questions, it seems to me, will deter- 
mine the question of reunion : 

"First. Will the cause of total abstinence and prohibition be bene 
fited by reunion ? 

'■ Second. Are the Templar leaders willing to forget self and personal 
prejudice and bury past mistakes and blunders ? 

' ' I am fully satisfied that union will be for the best interests of the 
reform. The struggle between your Order and the parent Order con- 
sumes time and money, which should be used to advance the temper- 
ance work. On the American Continent your Order has no standing, 
and its only power is to disintegrate the temperance forces and thereby 
help the drunkard-makers. Men and women who have entered the work 
to save the fallen and to save others from falling become discouraged 
and disheartened over this wrangle in temperance ranks, and thereby the 
reform suffers. The purpose of my co-workers is to destroy the evils 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 221 

growing out of the drink habit and drink traffic, and they regard Good 
Templary as a means to accomplish the desired end. Good Templary 
is used to advance the reform, instead of using the reform to advance 
Good Templary. 

" Personally, I not only think that this strife in the Order ought never 
to have been, but that to continue it now is a crime against the cause 
and Order. If Good Templary was the end sought, a conflict along 
old lines with our rapidly-developing organization and increasing treas- 
ury to sustain it might be welcome, but a person who subordinates the 
reform to personal ambition or personal prejudice is false to humanity 
and civilization. Our increasing and your failing strength creates no 
desire to meet you in any other way than as equals. "We are brothers, 
and the brother who wishes to humble or degrade his brother is not 
manly. The Templar leaders will meet you as an equal, and your dele- 
gation as they meet you. 

" In the second place, I have no personal prejudice against you or any 
of your leaders. My thought is, you committed a grievous blunder at 
Louisville in 1876. You think you did right. The only way we could 
agree on this matter is to let the dead past bury its dead. The work 
before us is God's work. The little I have done for the work has been 
with His help and guidance, and as disunion and internal wrangles are 
an injury to the work, I am sure He will open the way for a union of 
the forces. 

" No persons in the world are more interested in the negro than the 
Abolitionists of the Northern States, and they are with us in our methods 
of work. Your system differs from ours, because you only reach the 
negro, while we reach both the negro and the white. One error in your 
philosophy on the negro question is, you think the white must develop 
the negro, while the fact is, the negro must be aided to develop himself. 
The burden of lodge work, church work, and school work must be laid 
on his shoulders. By use of his intellectual forces they will acquire 
strength, and he will be truly a man. The negroes in Northern States 



222 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

where they associate and mingle with the whites occupy subordinate 
positions. The truly great negroes in this country have come from the 
South. 

" The negro must be taught to be proud of his race. He must be made 
strong by being placed where he is compelled to use his higher facul- 
ties. To place him in an organization where the superior education and 
advantages of the white would consign the negro to subordinate posi- 
tions, and thereby prevent his intellectual growth, would be a crime 
against the negro. The colored ministers of Southern States did the 
wisest possible thing for the race when they demanded separate con- 
ferences and church associations. The colored population of the United 
States have made wonderful progress in twenty years, but much, very 
much remains to be done. They have to be taught and retaught the 
ABCof temperance work and organization. So thoroughly convinced 
am I that they develop more rapidly when the work is placed in their 
hands and official honors on their shoulders, "that I employ educated 
colored lecturers instead of white lecturers to work among them. 

" The negro race has a great future before it in this country. It is 
increasing much more rapidly than the white race. The negro race will 
not be absorbed by the white race. Anglo-Saxon pride of race may lead 
us to dispute the assertion, but the facts all sustain the statement. The 
mixed bloods are disappearing in this country, while the pure negro is 
rapidly increasing. With these certainties before us, we must adjust 
our Order to develop the negro, because beneath his dark skin lies the 
solution of the problem of the future of his race. Negro progress must 
come from forces within, stimulated by forces from the outside. The 
question before us is how to develop these forces. As the result of our 
system, race prejudice is dying out in the South. The temperance 
work is succeeding grandly, and I cannot believe it either wise or ex- 
pedient to destroy the independent position of the negro in Good Tem- 
plary, and place him again under the tutelage of the white population. 
Your idea of race association would at present make the negro the ser- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 223 

vant or menial of the white. There can be equal association only among 
equals, and the negro, though rapidly advancing, is yet far from being 
the equal of the white in matters of business management or educational 
qualifications. To place him in association with the white is to put the 
white in all positions of trust and honor, and prevent the development 
of the negro. The Right Worthy Grand Lodge knows no distinction of 
race or color, and it will punish any lodge or grand lodge which discrim- 
inates against a man on account of his color, but it will not sacrifice the 
good of the negro race to the phantom of race association, by trying to 
compel them to associate before social evolution has made such associ- 
ation desirable on either side. 

" The Order stands for the high ideal of race equality, and it will 
work to bring it about, by recognizing facts as they exist, and trying to 
develop the negro race socially, intellectually, and morally. Your sys- 
tem instead of rubbing out the color line has rubbed in the color line, 
and in every place where you have succeeded in the Southern States you 
have erected barriers between the black and white, which only time can 
break down, while in Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, and other States 
white Good Templars are organizing the colored people into Good 
Templar lodges under our system. To open this question again is to 
kindle anew the fires of race prejudice and undo the work of ten years. 
Your system has been a failure in the Southern States, and the money 
you have spent there has been largely wasted. If reunion is brought 
about, you will find that your few colored lodges will object to white 
domination. You cannot force social equality by legislation. It can 
only come by working to remove the barriers which prevent it, and this 
evolution must be among the people affected, not among outsiders. 

" If we can take Good Templary and your Order as they exist in this 
country, England, Scandinavia, and other countries, and after adjusting 
details go forward as one body, I shall be. happy to appoint a delegation 
from our Eight Worthy Grand Lodge to meet your delegation at the 
Fifth Avenue Hotel in the city of New York, May 16th, 17th, and 18th. 



224 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

" In appointing this delegation, I shall not appoint it to gain any vic- 
tory over your Order, and if your delegation is appointed to gain a vic- 
tory over us, the conference had better not be held. We do not propose 
any ultimatum, neither will we accept any. The good of the work de- 
mands a cessation of the strife between brothers. Our delegation will 
have full power to settle on terms, and your delegation must be invested 
with similar powers. The proxy representation, affiliated membership, 
beer-drinking in Denmark, district representation, are details which 
would necessarily be adjusted, but the conference can determine these 
matters. 

" I agree with you that the whole matter remain secret with delega- 
tions and executives until matters are adjusted or the attempt aban- 
doned. If negotiations fail, neither side to print any of the correspond- 
ence, unless they publish the whole. 

" Your friend, 

" John B. Finch." 

" Evanston, III., June 3, 1886. 
" Joseph Malins, P. B. W. 0. G. 

1 ' Dear Brother : I very much regret that you failed to receive my 
letter of April 6th. 

" The Eight Worthy Grand Lodge adjourned on Monday after the 
most successful session ever held. The District and Worthy Grand 
Lodge systems were perfected and given a degree, a course of study was 
adopted, and much needful legislation done. 

" I wish we could adjust matters early this year, so that we might all 
meet at Saratoga, N. Y., next year. 

" Yours, 

"John B. Finch, _R. W. 0. T." 

" Evanston, III., July 6, 1886. 
" Joseph Malins, B. W. 0. C. 

" Dear Sir and Brother : Your note of June 15th is at hand. Please 

allow me to suggest that if you and your associates agree that it is wise 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 225 

to send a delegation to meet ours, that you come in November. The 
reason for suggesting the time is, our elections come off the first of that 
month, and the excitement and work incident thereto will prevent our 
giving you such a reception as I desire to give you. At the close of the 
conference I would like to have you remain long enough to make some- 
thing of a trip through our jurisdiction. I hope both you and Brother 
Gladstone may come over. I wrote Brother Lane I hoped your delega- 
tion would be free from men, if you have any, who have personal preju- 
dices to gratify. I hope this matter may soon reach a satisfactory con- 
clusion. 

" Your friend, 

" John B. Finch." 

" Evanston, III., August 11, 1886. 
" Joseph Malins, R. W. G. C. 

" Dear Brother : A letter from Brother Lane fixes September 27th as 
the day, and Boston, Mass. , as the place for the proposed conference. I 
am glad it is settled, though I should have preferred a later date. 

" I write to ask you to arrange to stay several days after the confer- 
ence, and accompany me to New Jersey and other points to see our ag- 
gressive prohibition campaign. 

" Please write me when and how you sail. May God give you a speedy 

and safe voyage. 

" Your friend, 

"John B. Finch." 

The conference on reunion, composed of eight represent- 
atives from each of the two great branches of the Order, 
met in Boston, September 27th, 28th, and 29th, 1886. 

The members of the conference consisted of the Right 
Worthy Grand Templars of each of the two branches, and 
seven members from each side, appointed by them. 

For the parent body the members of the Conference 



226 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Committee were: John B. Finch, R.W.G.T.; W. H. 
Lambly, R.W.G.T.; Francena C. Bailey, R.W.G.V.T.; 
Oronhyatekha, M.D., R.W.G.C.; W. Martin Jones, 
P.G.C.T.; K B. Bronghton, G.C.T.; Charles L. Abbott, 
G.C.T.; George A. Bailey, G.C.T. 

For the other branch the following members were pres- 
ent : William G. Lane, R.W.G.T.; Joseph Malins, 
R.W.G.C; William Ross, P.R.W.G.T.; Jesse Forsyth, 
R.W.G.Y.T.; William W. Turnbull, R.W.G.S.; William 
M. Artrell, G.C.T.; William P. Hastings, P.G.C.T.; 
K T. Collins, G.V.T. 

Mr. Finch and Mr. Lane presided alternately at the ses- 
sions. The influence of Mr. Finch was the power that 
moved the conference, as every member recognized that 
but for his skill and persistence no effort for reunion would 
have been made or could have been successful. 

Twenty-six propositions were adopted as a basis of re- 
union, and it was agreed that both bodies should meet at 
Saratoga Springs, N. Y., where the parent organization, at 
its Richmond session, had decided to meet in May, 1887. 

The conference basis settled, Mr. Finch set out at once 
to secure the hearty co-operation of all the Grand Lodges in 
his jurisdiction. Under date of October 11th and Decem- 
ber 9th, 1886, he wrote : 

" My dear Brother Malins : I shall immediately commence work to 
make reunion a glorious success in this country. In January shall com- 
mence a Southern trip in which I shall visit every Southern State, and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 229 

put our work on a sound and correct footing. It will cost me personally 
one thousand dollars, but it must be done. Now I want you to aid me 
in England by opening correspondence with the leading Grand Lodge 
officers, and, if possible, I wish you would see them personally. It 
becomes the strong and able to be generous. They can afford to be 
generous. 

" After reunion my thought is, it will take the first year to adjust mat- 
ters in America and Europe. The Eight Worthy Grand Lodge should 
want about two months of your time, for which it could pay you salary 
and expenses. The second year Africa, Asia, and Australia would take 
eight months. The whole work to be completed in two years. 

* ' Your friend, 

" John B. Finch." 

" My deae Brother Malins : Thanks for all favors received. My 
health is very much better. There is very much to be done before next 
May, and I am sure God will give me strength to do it. Thanks for 
your suggestions in regard to English matters. I am writing our friends 
on that side by every mail. I want to be kind and firm. Am willing to 
stand or fall by the Boston Conference. 

' ' At the right moment all our Grand Lodges will be sounded on the 

question of reunion. 

" Your friend, 

"John B. Finch." 

At Saratoga the strain upon the nerves was intensified 
tenfold. There his cherished plans were to be consum- 
mated and the hopes of years crowned with success, or for- 
ever shattered. He arrived three days in advance of the 
opening of the session. From the hour of his arrival till 
the close of the session his days and nights were full of 
sleepless activity. For nearly two weeks there was little 



230 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 

opportunity for rest. Meetings of the Executive Com- 
mittee and other committees, consultations with members, 
conferences of leaders, were held late at night and early in 
the morning, to avoid interference with the regular morn- 
ing, afternoon, and evening sittings of the Right Worthy 
Grand Lodge. 

Noticing an anxious look in the face of his wife one day, 
he said : 

" Puss, you have all you can do to keep up. What do 
you think of me ? I have to endure it all, and preside over 
the sessions. ' ' 

According to the agreement, both Right Worthy Grand 
Lodges convened and officially adopted the basis of union 
of the Boston Conference. On the evening of the third 
day they ended their separate sessions and met together as 
one body, the supreme legislative and executive head of 
Good Templary throughout the world. 

On the entrance of the members of the returning branch 
the wildest enthusiasm prevailed. Handkerchiefs were 
waved and cheer after cheer rose from the assembly. An 
hour of intermission was granted for hand-shaking and 
congratulation. 

The scene was one long to be remembered by all who 
were present. A benediction from on high seemed to 
breathe its hallowing influence upon the members. The 
opposition of years melted like snowflakes in the summer 
sun. Men who had been hostile almost to bitterness, stood 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 231 

clasped in each other's arms, with tears of joy raining down 
their cheeks. Every voice united in singing : 



and 



1 ' Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, " 

" Blest be the tie that binds 

Our hearts in Christian love ; 
The fellowship of kindred minds 

Is like to that above. 
Before our Father's throne 

We pour our ardent prayers ; 
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, 

Our comforts and our cares." 



When the rejoicing members were again called to order 
Mr. Finch called upon the chaplain to offer prayer, and the 
response was a most fervent offering of gratitude to God 
for the loving providence which made the union possible. 
In that solemn moment of communion with Heaven every 
soul seemed sanctified by the visible manifestations of the 
Divine Presence. 

There was joy in the hearts of these representatives of 
seven hundred thousand Good Templars when they stood, 
for the first time in eleven years, a fraternal circle, around 
the sacred altar of the Order, and lovingly reconsecrated 
their lives to the overthrow of the demon of strong drink 
in all the lands and kingdoms and continents under the 
whole heaven. 

Mr. Finch no doubt felt his blood leap faster with pulsa- 



232 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

tions of gratification and thankfulness as he beheld the glori- 
ous consummation of his three years of most anxious hope. 

The united body remained in session for four days, clos- 
ing its business late at night on the 31st day of May. Mr. 
Finch was unanimously elected Chief of the reunited Order, 
and now for the first time in its history the Right "Worthy 
Grand Lodge adjourned for two years. 

After the adjournment of the Right Worthy Grand 
Lodge the newly-elected Executive Committee held several 
sessions, in which arrangements were made for Mr. Finch 
to visit immediately, England, Norway, Sweden, and 
Denmark, to look after the interests of the Order in those 
kingdoms. He afterward found the demands of other 
branches of temperance work too pressing to permit an 
absence from the United States for three months, and 
therefore the plan for the contemplated visit abroad was 
abandoned. 

In the proposed trip abroad Mrs. Finch and little John 
were to accompany him, and some other friends were ex- 
pected to join the party. The following was the memo- 
randum of route outlined by Mr. Finch : 

" New York to Glasgow, through Scotland and England, 
cross from England to Denmark, thence through Sweden 
and Germany, returning to England and sailing from 
Liverpool for home." 

Immediately after the close of the session Mr. Finch 
wrote : 




EIGHT WORTHY GRAND LODGE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 235 

" In the midst of the rejoicing over union of the Templar forces, the 
future work of the Order must not be forgotten. Union simply clears 
the deck for action. The union movement was begun because disunion 
prevented successful work, wasted funds, and misdirected force. 
Union was not a sentiment, it was a necessity. With the blessing and 
guidance of God it was accomplished. The forces are united, ' "We are 
one.' But if this is to be the end, the work will have been worse than 
wasted and union will prove a defeat instead of a victory. The Good 
Templar Order must be the aggressive temperance missionary organiza- 
tion of the world. It is the duty of every Good Templar to study and 
work to make the Order in spirit what it is in numbers — the greatest 
temperance organization in the world. The Order needs and must have 
the best thought and work of its members. One trouble in times past 
has been that many Templars, while members of the Order, have neg- 
lected its work and given time, money, and praise to other organiza- 
tions. Temperance organizations should co-operate as temperance 
organizations, but deserting one's temperance home to praise and sup- 
port some other temperance society is about as sensible as deserting 
one's wife and children to support those of another man. If the Order 
of Good Templars is old and useless, it is the duty of every Good Templar 
to leave it and join a live organization. If the Order is live, active, 
and aggressive, it is entitled to the honest, loyal support of all its mem- 
bers. The fact is, the Order is the leading temperance organization of 
the world to-day. It holds more meetings, raises more money, and cir- 
culates more literature than any other organization. Bat the demands 
of the time are for more and better work, and the object of this letter is 
to urge every Good Templar to give his best thought and energy to 
building up and developing the Subordinate, District, and Grand 
Lodges." 

The People's Friend, Hobart, Tasmania, of September 
1st, contained the following letter to the business manager, 



236 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Mr. John Andrews, dated at Evanston, 111., U. S. A., 
June 18th, 1887 : 

' Dear Sir and Brother : The People's Friend comes regularly to my 
office, and I am under great obligations to the kind friend who sends it. 
Of the more than one huDdred temperance papers which come to me 
each month, none is read with greater interest. Tasmania seems a long 
way off, but your paper brings it wonderfully near. 

" Please allow me through its columns to send greeting to the Good 
Templars of Tasmania, and to congratulate them on the reunion of the 
Good Templar Order. Before you receive this letter the news of union 
will have reached Tasmania. The Eight Worthy Grand Lodge being 
united, it is expected the Grand Lodges will unite within a year. The next 
session of the Bight Worthy Grand Lodge will meet in Chicago, U. S. A., 
May, 1889. The next two years will be devoted to arranging the details 
of union between Grand Lodges, to perfecting the missionary machinery 
of the Order, and to actively and aggressively pushing missionary work. 
Good Templary must be, and with God's help and guidance shall be, 
the aggressive missionary organization of the world. Disunion during 
the past ten years has crippled our forces and wasted our funds. To-day 
we are united, and ready to go forward to battle for the homes of the 
world. We have nothing to do but perfect our Order — raise funds to 
circulate literature and hire speakers, and force the fighting. Our 
enemy is the alcoholic drink habit and the alcoholic drink traffic. The 
Templars' war-cry is — ' Total abstinence and total prohibition.' The 
stronghold of the liquor traffic is the ignorance of the people in regard 
to the cause of the evils of intemperance and the true remedies for such 
evils. This ignorance must be overcome by literature and lectures, and 
the Templar army must furnish the means to provide both. Templars 
were not enlisted for a holiday parade. The battle with the liquor- 
traffic is a battle to death. No license of any form, nor under any cir- 
cumstances, for the alcoholic beverage traffic, must be blazoned on the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 237 

shield of every Templar. The wives, mothers, and babies of the drunk- 
ards are looking to us for protection. In the name of Him who said, 
* Suffer little children to come unto Me,' I want to urge every Good 
Templar to be true to himself, true to the Order, true to his country, 
and true to his God. The executive of the Bight Worthy Grand Lodge 
will do all in its power to find the weak places in the line, and to assist 
the Worthy Grand and Grand Lodges to strengthen them. The wisdom 
and bravery of your local leaders have often been told us, and I want to 
thank them publicly for services grandly rendered ; and also want to 
say to the rank and file, that in being loyal and true to your local lead- 
ers, you are loyal and true to the head of the Order. 

" I had hoped to come to Australasia this year, but business and polit- 
ical duties prevent. However, if our Heavenly Father so will, I shall 
try to be with you in 1889 or 1890. 

" Praying God's richest blessings on the Tasmanian Grand Lodge of 
Templars, 

" I remain your friend, 

"John B. Finch, B. W. 0. T." 

One of the last official communications ever sent out by 
Mr. Finch, the proclamation for a week of prayer, is full 
of the thought of union. 

*- Dear Brothers and Sisters : The Constitution of the Eight Worthy 
Grand Lodge provides as follows : 

" Sec. 9. The fourth week in November of each year shall be known 
throughout the Order as ' Missionary Week, ' and the entire Order, at 
the Subordinate Lodge meetings held during that week, shall be re- 
quested to raise at least ten cents, or its equivalent, from each member 
of the Order, to be sent to the Missionary Fund of the Bight Worthy 
frrand Lodge, to be used by that body in the circulation of temperance 
literature. The funds raised shall be sent by the Secretaries of the 



238 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Subordinate Lodges to the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Lodge, and 
by him to the Eight Worthy Grand Secretary. The Eight Worthy Grand 
Secretary shall acknowledge the receipt of, and forward the same to the 
Eight Worthy Grand Treasurer. The Eight Worthy Grand Secretary 
shall show, in his annual report, the amount of this fund, and by which 
Grand or Subordinate Lodge contributed. 

" At the Saratoga Session of the Eight Worthy Grand Lodge, the fol- 
lowing recommendation of the Committee on Petitions was adopted : 

" ' And we would earnestly recommend that inasmuch as the Consti- 
tution of the Eight Worthy Grand Lodge has set apart the fourth week 
in November of each year as " Missionary Week," that it will also be 
designated as a special season of prayer, and that the Eight Worthy 
Grand Templar by proclamation invoke the Order all over the world to 
unite at that time in praise, prayer, and generous giving for the welfare 
and prosperity of our Order.' 

" In accordance with the law and instruction of the Eight Worthy 
Grand Lodge, I proclaim the fourth week in November, 1887, a week of 
prayer throughout the Order. At the regular lodge meeting held during 
that week let the entire membership join in prayer and thanksgiving to 
the Almighty God for the wonderful blessings vouchsafed to us as an 
Order during the past year. The greatest blessing during the year has 
been the union of the divided Order, and I want to urge the whole 
united Order in every part of the world, by a contribution of at least ten 
cents by each member, to place in the hands of the Eight Worthy Grand 
Lodge Executive, the funds to liquidate certain debts which prevent full 
and perfect union of the Order. The need is great, and I plead with 
every Grand Lodge to make the collection a general offering of the Order 
for the blessing of union. 

"InF., H., andC, 

" John B. Finch, B. W. 0. T." 

W* W. Turnbull, of Glasgow, Scotland, who succeeded 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 239 

Mr. Finch in the office of Right Worthy Grand Templar, 
in his address upon assuming the duties of the position, said : 

" Brother Finch was no ordinary man, no ordinary Good Templar, or 
Eight Worthy Grand Templar. Amid the galaxy of brilliant leaders of 
our great temperance organization, no name stands higher than that of 
him who was raised up and honored by God to arrange and carry through 
the union of our forces. The name of John B. Finch will be held in 
everlasting remembrance as a peace-maker, the restorer of the sundered 
fellowship between estranged brethren, and the turner of their energies 
from fratricidal strife into the useful channels of promoting the interests 
of humanity and the furtherance and triumph of total abstinence and 
the prohibition of the traffic in intoxicating drinks. The union of the 
Order may be regarded as the greatest work of his life. For this cause, 
I believe God raised him up and gave him the confidence of every mem- 
ber of the Order throughout both sections, and we are thankful to God 
that He spared that useful life not only to see the union of the two 
Eight Worthy Grand Lodges at Saratoga, but gave him, ere he was 
called to rest, the satisfaction of knowing that in New South Wales, in 
Victoria, in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, in Nova Scotia and New- 
foundland, in Scotland and in Ireland, in Cape Colony and in India, the 
two branches of the Order had been harmoniously merged without a 
single dissentient voice or vote. Never is the addition of the word 
' Past ' to be applied to Brother Finch's title as Eight Worthy Grand 
Templar of our united world-wide Order. His name will always stand 
at the top of the roll as the first in the new union made in his native 
State in May last. His winning manners, his cheery words, and his 
pleasant smile carried our hearts by storm. 

1 ' Nothing has impressed me more in all my correspondence with him 
than the deep-toned piety which he unconsciously expressed. During 
the negotiations regarding reunion he wrote to me, saying : ' Good Tern- 
plary can only succeed by methods which God can approve.' 



240 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" John B. Finch ' served his generation by the will of God,' and fin- 
ished the work God gave him to do. He has passed to • where beyond 
these voices there is peace.' In our blindness we feel in our hearts like 
crying, ' Would to God he was with us still. ' 

' Oh, for the touch of a vanished hand, 
And the sound of a voice that is still I ' 

But no ; we crush back the feeling, for ■ it is well ' with him. Dearly 
beloved, friend and brother, farewell ! Thou dost rest from thy labors, 
and thy works follow thee. In a little while, we know not how soon, 
our working days will also be over, and we, too, shall enter upon our 
rest. God grant that when our time comes, like you, we may be found 
at the post of duty, and that we may meet you in the better land, there 
to grasp hands again as friends and fellow-workers, to share together in 
the bliss of the redeemed, and to engage in the uninterrupted service of 
God." 

From far-off India, the notes of rejoicing over the future 
prospects of the Order were mingled with praise of the 
leader whose clear brain had planned reunion. 

The United Indian Terrvplar said : 

" The infinite tact Mr. Finch displayed in dealing with questions 
regarding reunion at Saratoga won the admiration of all observing men. 
He combined in a remarkable degree that suaviter in modo and fortiler 
in re which are always found in able politicians." 

In his annual report to his Grand Lodge, Theodore D. 
Kanouse, Past Right Worthy Good Templar and present 
Grand Chief Templar of Dakota, wrote : 

u The schism of 1876 was completely healed at Saratoga, The Bight 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 241 

Worthy Grand Lodge and the so-called Eight Worthy Grand Lodge of 
the World met according to the agreement, and, like good Christian 
folk, ' buried the hatchet' and agreed from thenceforth to march 'neath 
one banner from zone to zone, and at the bidding of one commander-in- 
chief. This glorious result was brought about by the wonderful skill in 
diplomacy of our Right Worthy Grand Templar, fairly met in supreme 
council by the patriotism of noble souls from all over the world. The 
reunion having been legally accomplished, it yet remained for some one 
to be sought out who should by his wisdom and tact unite us in bonds 
of brotherly love. ' Who is sufficient for these things ? ' was the all- 
absorbing question. The courageous, valiant, peerless captain who had 
led the Order up the mount overlooking the promised land became the 
inspiration of all hearts, and with one voice John B. Finch was chosen. 
The modest man whose wonderful grasp of great questions had won for 
him the admiration of our world's great men went forth to the accom- 
plishment of his high commission. In the discharge of his duty, he 
came within our own jurisdiction to consult concerning plans for the 
advancement of our cause and Order. The 24th, 25th, and 26th days of 
September last were ' Red-Letter ' days with my family, for on those 
days Brother Finch was our guest. On Monday morning the 26th 
we bowed together at our family altar and commended the cause 
for which Brother Finch was giving his life, to Him who careth 
when the sparrow falls. To me it was a solemn moment, for being far 
from the centres of Brother Finch's work, I did not expect soon again to 
enjoy his presence in my home. Amens were said, and we arose, and at 
eleven o'clock we bade our beloved chief good-by with a promise soon 
to meet him in Chicago. This promise we kept — not, as he had urged, 
for further consultation, but to assist in entombing his earthly remains ; 
for on the 3d day of October in the city of Boston, Mass. — as the Ger- 
man tradition of Moses is — ' The Lord kissed him and he was not.' 
The world of temperance workers felt the shock of his dsath, and we 
shall ever mourn his loss as one of God's brightest and best. " 



242 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

That grand, true-hearted hero. Past Eight Worthy Grand 
Templar, Samuel D. Hastings, who for nearly fifty years 
has nobly fought the battles of two great reforms, re- 
viewed the history of the reunion of the Good Templars in 
his Memorial Address in Madison, Wis., November 27th, 
1887. He said : 

"As an organizer and worker, John B. Finch was no less distinguished 
than as an orator and as a leader. As the head of the Order of Good 
Templars he accomplished a most extraordinary work. The Order ex- 
tends all over the civilized world, and in the discharge of his duties as 
its chief executive officer, he was in almost constant correspondence with 
persons residing in all parts of its wide extended jurisdiction. One of 
the duties devolving upon him as head of the Order was that of Super- 
intendent of Missions. In the management of this work he exhibited 
the most consummate skill and the highest order of executive ability. 
His reports as Superintendent of Missions show a wonderful grasp of the 
work as a whole, while his oversight of details, even to the most minute 
particulars, shows that nothing escaped his watchful eye. A brief ex- 
tract from the introduction to his report as Superintendent of Missions 
presented at the recent session of the Eight Worthy Grand Lodge will 
serve to give those not connected with the Order some idea of his views 
as to its principles and aims in this direction. 

" Says the report : ' In the early history of the Order, before the line 
of battle had been formed, temperance work was a novelty, and thou- 
sands joined our ranks ; but when the increasing bitterness of the struggle 
forced upon them the fact that the battle between the alcoholic liquor 
traffic and the Templar forces, was a battle to death, the holiday soldiers 
became frightened and left the ranks by hundreds. The Good Templars 
first proclaimed that no compromise or treaty would be made with the 
liquor traffic. The liquor-sellers at once met the issue by attacking 
every politician, every political party, business man, newspaper, and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 243 

church that was not openly or secretly in favor of legalizing drunkard- 
making. The dullest person in the world to-day knows that to join the 
Good Templars is to enlist for the war, and that by joining he declares 
eternal hate to the alcoholic drink habit and traffic. . . . Acting 
under your instructions, I have endeavored to do permanent work. . . . 
Ideal Good Templary plans for the wide circulation of papers, books, 
and documents, and the permanent employment of a corps of lay evan- 
gelists, who shall visit every village, hamlet, town, and city in the 
Grand Lodge jurisdiction during the year. To this ideal I have tried 
to turn the thought of our workers and leaders.' 

" His greatest work in connection with the Good Templars was, 
doubtless, the bringing about the union of the two branches of the 
Order, that for ten years had spent in opposing each other, time and 
energy that ought to have been spent in fighting the common enemy. 
Unfortunately, in 1876, the Order was divided, owing to a difference of 
views touching the status of the colored man in the Order. Efforts were 
made at different times during the ten years of separation to bring about 
reunion, but all had resulted in failure. Shortly after Mr. Finch was 
placed at the head of the Order, he concluded to make one more attempt 
to bring about union. After a vast amount of labor, and after surmount- 
ing obstacles that would have discouraged an ordinary man, he suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing what he had undertaken. At the session of 
the Right Worthy Grand Lodge held at Saratoga Springs in May last, he 
was made glad by seeing the representatives of the two branches of the 
Order, from all parts of the world, come together as one body, consti- 
tuting the largest temperance organization that ever had an existence. 
His unanimous election to the chief executive chair of the united body 
was evidence that his efforts were appreciated. 

" One who was not in a position to know what had to be done to 
bring about this union can have no adequate idea of the immense 
amount of labor performed by Mr. Finch in securing the result. 

" Few men could have performed all the actual labor that he per- 



244 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

formed in bringing about this union had they had nothing else what- 
ever to occupy their time and attention. Mr. Finch not only did this, 
but he attended carefully to his work as Superintendent of Missions ; he 
promptly discharged his important and responsible duties as the chief 
executive officer of the Order ; he attended to his duties as Chairman of 
the National Executive Committee of the Prohibition Party, and during 
the whole time was almost constantly travelling, speaking almost daily, 
frequently at points so wide apart as to make it seem as though he was 
almost omnipresent. 

" Mr. Finch had an immense correspondence, and yet I have seldom 
known a man more prompt in replying to letters than he was. 

"He had a wonderful knowledge of the situation of the battle not 
only all over this land, but, as far as the Order of Good Templars was 
concerned, all over the world. 

" He seemed to know just what was needed at every point all along 
the vastly extended line of battle. 

" If a surprise was contemplated at any point, he seemed to be aware 
of it and to know just how to meet and counteract it. 

"If an unexpected attack had been made at another point, he was 
quick to send the needed relief. He knew personally nearly all the 
prominent workers in this country, both in the Good Templar Order 
and in the Prohibition Party, and he seemed to be able almost intui- 
tively to gauge not only their mental but their moral standing ; and when 
he wanted a man for any j>articular service he knew just the right one to 
call upon. By correspondence and other means he had a knowledge of 
the leading members of the Order in other parts of the world, and so 
correct was he in his estimate of their characters, that seldom, if ever, 
was he mistaken in selecting men for the performance of special service. 
In communicating his wishes to those he selected for such special 
service, he did it in the most terse and concise language, and yet in such 
clear and definite terms that there could be no mistake what he wanted 
done. It seemed as though he imparted something of his own personal 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 245 

magnetism to his correspondence, so strongly did he impress himself 
upon those whom he desired to respond to his wishes. 

" During an active intercourse with my fellow-men for more than half 
a century, in which time I have been brought in contact with many 
men who have been distinguished as orators, leaders, organizers, and 
workers, I feel warranted in saying that I have never met a man who, 
in his own person, in all these respects excelled or even equalled John 
B. Finch." 

How the whole order trusted and honored Mr. Finch 
tributes from two hemispheres testify. From every zone 
and every continent came cries of lamentation when Good 
Templary lost his peerless leadership. 

A few words of appreciation from friends who knew and 
loved him, and equally warm and heartfelt memorials from 
others who only knew him by his work, are selected as ex- 
pressive of the high esteem for him felt by members of 
the Order throughout the world. 

" We only knew the Eight Worthy Grand Templar officially — through 
his many labors for temperance reform, his published addresses, and 
some private correspondence — yet he held a high place in our esteem as 
one of the most able, effective, unwearied, and hopeful leaders in the 
temperance army. It is consolatory to know that though the worker, 
and even the leaders in the work fall by the wayside, the work goes on. 
' God buries His workers, but carries on His work. ' Were it not so, we 
should be ready to despair when such men as John B. Finch are called 
to their rest ere their task appears to be half performed. He is gone 
from us, and we see him not nor hear his voice again, but the influence 
of such a holy life can never die ! It is eternal, and cannot cease to live. 
Inspired by the memory and by the abiding influence of the short but 



246 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH* 

grand and purposeful life, many shall arise to carry on and complete 
the work he has left undone." — Temperance Herald, Dunedin, New Zea- 
land. 

"Our leader is dead. The man we all loved, whose counsels we ' 
prized, whose opinions we cherished, whose judgment we respected, the 
master hand of all our work, he who planned and shaped our very 
being as an Order, is gone and gone forever." — Central Good Templar, 

Ohio. 

" In the loss of our illustrious chief, the world has lost a worthy citi- 
zen and humanity a sinceke feiend, whose lif e-work will be remembered 
for aye, and whose memory will be enshrined in Templar history for 
all time."— Resolution of Executive Committee of Grand Lodge of Yorkshire, 
England. 

"John B. Finch was a man of noble impulses, generous to a fault, 
true and steadfast in his friendships ; a man of genius, a fine logician, 
a grand debater, unequalled on the platform ; he had all the requisites 
that Cicero claimed for the true orator : sincerity, integrity of character, 
brightness of imagination, and, above all, a high and exalted sense of 
the importance of his subject, and a passionate belief in its truth in the 
highest and purest meaning of the word. Dignified yet forcible, graphic 
yet pertinent, his sentences fell like ponderous thunderbolts to con- 
vince. The grand man has gone to rest, and we shall not soon see his 
like again." — J. J. Hickman, Past Right Worthy Ghrand Templar. 

" My feeling toward my friend and leader, John B. Finch, was differ- 
ent from any I ever entertained toward another human being. It was 
like the combined love for wife, brother, son, and friend. 

" When he disclosed a policy, I never thought of questioning its wis- 
dom or utility. Our relations were intimate, because I relied on his 
judgment, and he trusted me to carry out his plans. While I live I shall 
never become reconciled to his early death. To me he seemed generous 
to a fault, true as the needle to the pole, able to an eminent degree, and 
a Christian in the best sense of the term. Letters from five continents 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 247 

prove that he was loved and honored by people in all lands, who think 
well of their kind." — B. F. Parker, Bight Woiihy Grand Secretary. 

* ' Those who had intimate relations with Brother Finch have been 
highly favored. Oh, that I could have been with him more, when both 
were less pressed by public duties ! 

"Able, earnest, logical, eloquent, and full of soul, he never failed to 
reach and hold his hearer's convictions ; the right word and act ever in 
the right place ; his administrations were wise, strong, and prosperous. 
He loved his work for humanity's sake. Others saw it, and, as to a 
magnet, rallied around him with a hearty support on all his measures. 
Christian civilization, world-wide, has lost a mighty leader." — Hon. S. B. 
Chase, Past Bight Worthy Grand Templar. 

" His character as revealed in the story of his life from early manhood 
till the hour of his death, was marked by perseverance, zeal, devotion, 
fidelity to principle and true Christian service, which won the love and 
gratitude of millions, and recorded his name in our annals as one of the 
noblest of the world's benefactors. 

' ' In the lesson of the ■ golden rule, ' he formed the solid foundation of 
a true human brotherhood, and in the precepts and example of the great 
Master, the inspiration for his daily life. ' ' — Rev. J. H. Orne, Past Bight 
Worthy Grand Templar. 

" His manly form, apparently so healthful and vigorous, induced the 
hope that he had many years of usefulness ; but alas ! it has been other- 
wise ordered, and the great Master whom he served so faithfully and 
well, has sent one of His messengers with the mandate, ' Come up 
higher. ' "We cannot call him back, but we can strive to follow in his 
footsteps ; and if I, when I have to die, can look back upon doing a little 
after his bright example, I shall feel that I have not altogether lived in vain. 

" In this distant colony our members were often cheered by his writ- 
ings, and his short, pithy, racy letters were to me very grateful when 
disheartened by failures, doubts, and difficulties. I always used to look 
forward to the pleasure of one day seeing him in this country, and have 



248 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

often spoken with delight of the hope I was indulging. In one of his 
last letters to me, when sending as he did very kind messages of remem- 
brance, he added, ' I don't at all give up the idea of visiting Africa,' and 
I have over and over again tried to picture to myself the improvement 
in the condition of things which I hoped would follow his advent here." 
-^Reuben Ayliff, Past Grand Chief Templar of South Africa. 

' ' I first met Brother Finch at the conference on reunion, and was im- 
pressed at once with his manly bearing and dignified appearance. 

" While it was plain that he was a born leader, there was a gentleness 
and persuasiveness in his manner which compelled his associates to fol- 
low him, unconscious of being led. He exercised the same effect on his 
hearers, and hence the great good he was able to perform for the cause 
he loved so well, and for which he sacrificed his life."— William M. 
Aktkell, Grand Chief Templar of Florida. 

" For nearly four years I knew Brother John B. Finch intimately and 
well. In uninterrupted correspondence with him, I had learned to 
esteem him as a man, honor him as a leader, and love him as a brother. 
God gave him an active and powerful brain, and a loving, gentle heart. 
Up to the time of his death he improved God's gifts until, when called, 
he went in the fulness of Christian manhood. The nation has lost the 
grandest temperance leader it had. I have lost a dearly loved and deeply 
mourned friend and brother." — E. E. Hutchins, Grand Chief Templar of 
Iowa. 

" Few men compress so much and such good work into a long life as 
our dear 'John' has put into his few years." — Rev. D. C. Babcock, 
Past Grand Chief Templar of Pennsylvania. 

"I can only assure you that we all loved our leader, that we were 
prepared to stand at his side in his noble self-sacrifice for humanity, 
and that to you we extend the hearty sympathy of brothers and sisters 
in God." — From a letter of Rev. William G. Lane, Nova Scotia, Past Bight 
Worthy Grand Templar, to Mrs. Finch. 

" Eight years of acquaintance with Mr. Finch impressed me with the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 249 

master qualities of his mind and the royal attributes of his heart. In 
his death prohibition has lost its ablest advocate. 

' ' Why are the brightest and best taken ? We cannot answer, and 
nothing but a sublime faith in the infinite wisdom and goodness of God 
can reconcile us to such a loss as this."— James A. Teoutman, Past Grand 
Chief Templar of Kansas. 

1 * Not as ' a stranger, ' but as a friend and sister, and one who mourns 
in common with the whole temperance world, I mourn the loss of an 
honored leader." — Mks. M. E. Kichaedson, California, General Superintend- 
ent Juvenile Work. 

" John B. Finch was the most marvellous man I ever met. He was a 
noble leader and a wise statesman. To know him rightly was to love 
him. I believe he had a greater influence over men than any man I ever 
knew. He spent days at my home, and was always full of happiness 
and sunshine. No death has ever affected me as did his, for I loved 
him so much." — P. J. Chisholm, Past Grand Chief Templar of Nova Scotia. 
" To Mrs. Finch: 

"lam instructed by my Executive to convey to you their heartfelt 
sympathy, and condole with you in your sudden bereavement. We, the 
members of the Executive of New South Wales, feel that a great and 
good man has been called away, a man and a brother who was worthy of 
admiration and high esteem, a man worthy to be followed. 

' ' His devotion to the cause of Templary, and his efforts to secure the 
total prohibition of the liquor traffic are well known to us, and a feeling 
of deep sorrow at his loss will pervade the entire membership through- 
out the world. We trust that God will raise up others to continue the 
work that your husband has had to relinquish, and that your natural 
grief under this affliction will be tempered by the remembrance of his 
noble life. That the Almighty will comfort and sustain you is our 
sympathetic prayer." — James B. Peice, Grand Secretary, for Executive 
Committee of the Grand Lodge of New South Wales, Australia. 

"Denmark, conspicuously among the countries of the Scandinavian 



250 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

group, held a warm place in the heart of our world's Templar leader ; 
the most cordial relation existed between himself and Templar Helmer 
and Secretary Morck of the Danish Grand Lodge, with whom he fre- 
quently corresponded. It was by his wise directions that the scattered 
lodges of Schleswig were united and placed under the Eight Worthy 
Grand Lodge, also that a successful campaign was inaugurated there, 
J. Wollesen and P. C. Schmidt,, of Apenrade, Germany, and myself, as 
his lieutenants. Denmark was among the first to respond approvingly 
to Brother Finch' s plan of union. He cherished the hope of some day 
visiting those interesting countries, and it was only three weeks before 
his death that he made provisions for the organization of a Grand Lodge 
for Germany." — Victor Holmes, Denmark. 

" On the two occasions that I met Mr. Finch, his handsome person, 
polished manners, and expressive countenance impressed me with the 
high character which his speeches and career have justified. With a 
loving heart was combined, in an eminent degree, a quick and incisive 
intellect, a nature lofty, generous, and just, and a decision and will 
which fitted him for a leader of men." — Dr. F. H. Lees, Past Grand 
Chief Templar of England. 

' ' Though he had passed but his thirty-fifth year, he was the acknowl- 
edged leader of the temperance and prohibition armies of the world, 
and had addressed more people, and his speeches had received a wider 
circulation than any man of his age. His days were few, but he 
filled them all with deeds of glory. There was, there is no purer, 
nobler, grander man." — E. W. Chafin, Grand Chief Templar of Wisconsin. 

' ' The king of the rostrum, that grand old temperance warrior and 
leader, my honored friend, comrade, and co-worker is dead. Dead, but 
yet he lives. Old, did I say ? Yes, old in experience, old in eloquence, 
old in wisdom, old in judgment, old in that work of works in which no 
other man has done a greater amount. Old, did I say ? Oh, no ! But 
thirty-five years. A young man just merging from the budding into 
the blossoming time of young manhood, yet having lived more years, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 251 

when viewed from the success of the work he did, than any man of 
whose history I have knowledge. ... In his death this country — 
aye, the whole civilized world — has met with an irreparable loss. A 
brilliant, glitteriDg, blazing star in the great firmament of temperance 
workers has fallen, and there is no man to fill the place thus vacated." 
— Dr. D. H. Mann, Grand Chief Templar of New York.- 

1 ' He was the ablest debater upon the platform that I ever had the pleas- 
ure of hearing."— Phil Allen, Past Grand Chief Templar of Wisconsin. 

" A more manly man, a truer friend or a kinder brother we will never 
find. As a leader, he was without a peer. The loss to our Order is be- 
yond estimate." — H. B. Quick, Grand Chief Templar of Minnesota. 

" I have never intimately known a man with more individuality than 
had Brother Finch. He impressed himself upon all his work. He com- 
bined in his make-up all the essential elements of a great and successful 
leader of the Good Templar armies. . . . As an organizer of forces, 
he was without a peer. 

" His methods were unique and uniformly successful. He would 
originate and formulate his plans, then discuss them with his trusted 
lieutenants, and having gained their hearty support would seemingly be 
retired from the contest. But all the time he was the general who 
directed their movements, and they would fight the battle and win." — 
George C. Christian, Past Grand Counsellor of Illinois. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PROHIBITORY AMENDMENT CAMPAIGNS. 

So much one man can do, 
That does both act and know. 

Mar veil. 

~T~N every State where prohibitory constitutional amend- 
•*- ments were submitted to a vote of the people, Mr. 
Finch took some part in the campaign. 

In Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, Rhode Island, and Michi- 
gan he addressed the people in the chief cities, meeting in 
public discussion any who dared to offer opposing argument, 
and answering from the platform and through the press the 
deceptions and sophistries promulgated by the friends of 
the dram-shops. 

To the managers of State campaigns he seemed a tower 
of strength, and they always felt secure against all attacks 
by the opposition when they had obtained his services. 

In Kansas, where the first amendment campaign was con- 
ducted, Mr. Finch expressed to the State Executive Com- 
mittee his willingness to go into the frontier counties, 
where the work had been neglected because of the danger 
of personal violence. In several of these counties no 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 253 

organized amendment work had been carried on, and few 
votes were expected for the measure. 

Mr. Finch spent a portion of the time for which the 
Grand Lodge of Nebraska yielded him to the sister State, 
in the endeavor to rouse the people who had not been 
reached by any other workers. 

When the reports from the election were received, the 
lines of travel he followed could be distinctly marked by 
their larger percentages of favorable votes. 

James A. Troutman, Past Grand Chief Templar of Kansas, 
said in a memorial address delivered in Topeka : 

"I had known Mr. Finch as a strong local temperance worker in 
Nebraska for two years before our great and decisive campaign for con- 
stitutional prohibition in this State in 1880. He spent six weeks in the 
State during that campaign, and we were together much of the time. 
From that time until the date of his death we were steadfast friends. 

" The Kansas campaign, especially the ten days spent at Bismarck 
Grove, where the leading temperance orators of the world were gathered, 
did much to advertise the marvellous powers of Mr. Finch as a speaker.. 
The youngest of more than a score of orators, known to but few at the 
beginning of the meeting, he was acknowledged king of the rostrum 
when it closed. Francis Murphy, preceded by a world-wide reputation ; 
General Sam Carey, whose eloquence and wit had captivated audiences 
for more than a third of a century ; Governor St. John, backed by the 
prestige of his high office ; George W. Bain, one of the most charm- 
ing orators that ever stood upon an American platform, and many 
others, old in the service and known to fame, were there. John B. 
Finch came unheralded, and spoke from the same platform with these 
men and to the same audiences not once only, but a dozen or more 
times. Bain surpassed Finch in the pleasing elegance of his diction ; 



254 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

St. John, in the fervor of his utterances ; Carey, in the mirth and wit of 
his addresses ; Murphy, in pathos ; but in all the constituent elements 
of a great orator, this young man, who was a babe in his mother's arms 
when the others began their public career, surpassed them all. From 
that date Mr. Finch's reputation spread with wonderful rapidity. 

" No two public speakers addressed as many audiences as he during 
the last seven years of his life. His were not mechanical, stereotyped 
lectures. Each was full of new and progressive thought. In consider- 
ing the temperance problem as a financial, historical, scientific, and 
moral question, or as a legislative and political question, John B. Finch 
was the most accomplished and thorough temperance scholar in 
America. He was master of every phase of this absorbing problem. 
His mental resources seemed illimitable. I have heard him deliver over 
forty lectures in Kansas and elsewhere, and each one was replete with 
the mighty thoughts of a prodigious brain. He delivered at one time 
sixty successive addresses from the same platform, and a very intelli- 
gent gentleman who heard them said to me that if Finch repeated him- 
self during the whole course he was unable to detect it. This seems 
improbable, but it aptly illustrates the breadth of his information, the 
depth of his thought, and his matchless genius and versatility of expres- 
sion. While he was eloquent and pleasing, witty and sarcastic, the 
predominating characteristic of his brain was of the massive order, and 
he dropped into an argument with remarkable ease. I never heard him 
talk five minutes that he did not begin battering down the walls of 
sophistry that sustain the liquor traffic, with that tremendous hammer 
of logic that he wielded with invincible skill. 

" When I read in the telegraphic columns of our local papers, ' John 
B. Finch, Dead,' my mind instantly leaped back two years to a time and 
circumstance that had, up to that moment, been forgotten. Mr. Finch 
and I were sitting upon the banks of Lake Erie, discussing the temper- 
ance work. I told him all I could about the contest in Kansas. He told 
of his work — where he had been, and what success he had gained. ' I 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 255 

had hoped,' said he, ' to have some rest this year, but the calls are so 
numerous and so imperative, and the undeveloped field so wide, that I 
will have to put it off again. But,' he added, ' unless I do take more 
rest in the future than I have during the past few years, you will some 
day hear of my sudden death. ' But he went on and on, responding to 
calls, until his own prophecy was fulfilled. Energy, work, thought, 
killed John B. Finch. Many men who have reared for themselves im- 
perishable monuments of fame, and whose names have a lease upon im- 
mortality, first made their reputation, and then burned and cemented it 
into the minds, the hearts, and the affections of the people, by a long 
life of public service. If John B. Finch had been permitted to live and 
labor for fifteen years longer, until he reached the age of fifty, he would 
have woven for himself a brighter chaplet of renown than ever encircled 
the memory of a departed orator. But the intense activity of his life 
robbed us of a great and useful man just as the legacy of immortality 
was about to be bequeathed to him. 

" Mr. Finch was not merely an agitator, but a born organizer and 
leader. He was the most systematic and symmetrical advocate of temper- 
ance reform that has ever engaged in the woik. A Hercules upon the plat- 
form, in advocating advanced legislative and political action, he was none 
the less strong and powerful as the champion of educational measures. 
He proceeded upon the correct theory that every reform depends for its 
success upon the intelligence of the masses. Popular intelligence, an 
enlightened conscience, are written in burnished letters upon the face 
of every successful reformation in history. 

' ' He sent five thousand copies of ' The People vs. The Liquor Traffic ' 
to the Kansas State Temperance Union, at a time when educational 
forces were needed in this State, at less than it cost to publish them. 

" The loss sustained by a cause yet in its infancy in the death of 
such an agitator, such an organizer, and such a leader as Mr. Finch is 
great. "Who can fill the vacant place ? No man can answer ; but it will 
be filled. This great cause, to which so brilliant a life was sacrificed, is 



256 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

greater than any or all of its advocates. No error is more prevalent 
than the idea that a great cause can be defeated, or even retarded in its 
growth, by the death of its leaders. Despair and death have never been 
written upon the face of any just cause, and in the Divine adjustment 
of forces not one Finch, but a score, a hundred, a thousand, if need be, 
will be developed to carry on the work. Leaders may come and leaders 
may go, but this cause will go on until its final triumph is achieved. 
As Gough and Finch died, all the bright and courageous leaders may 
die ; but others no less brilliant, no less intrepid, will take up the cause 
and hasten the victory. The withering, blighting curse of rum will 
some day cease. 

" Do you say this is a mere dream of romance, a frenzy of fanaticism 
— that this evil will linger to the end of time ? Then the regeneration 
which God has extended to some men cannot be extended to others ! 
Then the Gospel of Truth is a failure, and preaching is vanity ! Then 
wrong shall triumph over right ! Then, in the great antagonism of 
forces, vice shall prove itself superior to virtue ! Then the Word of un- 
changeable truth, that righteousness shall cover the face of the earth as 
the waters cover the sea, shall be demonstrated a failure ! I do not 
believe this. You do not believe it. It is not true. It may not be in 
my time, it may not be in yours, but the period in the history of this 
work will be reached when the wails of sorrow that came up from the 
unfortunate victims of intemperance will cease ; when its dangerous 
and pernicious effects that now permeate every department of life and 
industry shall be felt and feared no more ; when the track of desolation 
its century of havoc has made shall blossom as the rose. Majestic and 
powerful as he was, our cause will survive the death of John B. Finch. 
I have no sympathy with that sentimentalism that says the loss can 
never be repaired. To say this is to impugn Omnipotent power. There 
is a prevalent distrust of the men and agencies of our own time, and a 
pessimistic scepticism as to the future, that ought to be banished from 
the hearts and minds of intelligent people. No age in the world's his- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 257 

tory was as good and as pure as the present. No age has produced as 
able, as brilliant, and as courageous men. Students of history look with 
admiration upon the men and the achievements of past ages, and are apt 
to make comparisons unfavorable to the present. History records and 
perpetuates only the virtues of men. All defects of greatness slumber 
with mortality. Frailties which are colossal when in actual view are 
never known by those who come after. And when the infirmities of this 
age follow those of other ages into oblivion, and all the master monu- 
ments of the present stand out in bold relief, made stainless by the gen- 
erous offices of time, the student of history will mark it down as an era 
which records the noblest and purest triumphs of men. 

" No man in all the history of moral efforts in the past has done as 
much and given his life as a sacrifice to a great cause, when but thirty- 
five years old, as John B. Finch. But his master mind, his brilliant 
genius, his dauntless courage, were aided by the bold and felicitous 
promptitude with which the American heart and conscience take hold 
of public questions. 

"In an age of intense activity no sluggard can accomplish good. 
When a man can stand upon a platform and utter great truths that reach 
the borders of civilization within twenty-four hours, it quickens percep- 
tion, stimulates activity, and gives him a wonderful lever for the accom- 
plishment of his purpose. Great movements are accelerated by this 
very galvanism of the thoughts of their leaders. And it takes a brain 
and nerve such as John B. Finch possessed to utilize the matchless 
forces of the present in conquering the vices of men. 

" Such men as he impart purity and strength to the governing influ- 
ences of society." 

When the campaign for prohibition in Iowa was made in 
1882, Mr. Finch was among the first in the field, and 
remained till the election was over, often speaking twice 
each day. His physical endurance was equal to the strain 



258 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

till the last hour of the struggle, but when the great contest 
was over, exhausted nature asserted itself, and he was pros- 
trated by a severe illness on election day. 

It had been agreed that all who had participated in the 
platform work of the campaign should meet at Des Moines 
on that day. Whenever these workers sought admission to 
his room at the hotel they were cordially welcomed, and in 
spite of his weakness and pain he conversed with each one 
about the work that had been done and the prospects of 
the day's voting. 

On the following day, when it had been ascertained that 
the amendment was carried by a large majority, Mr. Finch 
asked Mr. Sibley to prepare an address to the people of 
Iowa, to be signed by all the Good Templar workers who 
had assisted in the campaign. Although he was so ill, he 
did not forget that the great victory of the day before was 
but a single battle won in the war that must be waged until 
the armies of rum were utterly routed and disbanded. 

The following is the address as published in the city 
papers the next morning : 

" To the Independent Order of Good Templars of Iowa. 

" Sisters and Beothees : We, the representatives of other jurisdic- 
tions, who have been with you in your struggle for constitutional pro- 
hibition, ere we return to our homes to continue the contest in our own 
States, desire to return to you our sincerest thanks for the hearty cor- 
diality with which you have everywhere welcomed us and cheered our 
hearts by your kindness. Hoping we have been helpful to you in the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 259 

campaign now crowned with such a glorious victory, we bid adieu, but, 
ere we part, cannot but offer a few words of advice and warning. 

" In the hour of victory there may be danger. When the enemy has 
been routed and the weary soldiers bivouac on the battle-field, the skil- 
ful general does not forget to post a line of sharp-eyed pickets to peer 
through the darkness, watchful lest the opposing forces return and sur- 
prise the sleeping camp, wresting hard-earned laurels from the victor's 
brow. 

" Is there not danger that some, who have been valiant in the fight, 
untaught in the wider, underlying principles of temperance reform, may 
now lay down their arms, and fold their hands in the delusive dream 
that their work is ended and the final victory won ? ' Good laws only 
wound the devil ; the killing has to be done by hand.' 

' ' For thirty years Good Templary has taught that moral suasion with- 
out prohibition is a body without bones ; and prohibition without 
moral suasion, a fleshless skeleton. The union of the two makes the 
strong, vigorous, and active living organism. 

"For thirty years the Order has sought to make the business of 
drunkard -making legal and moral outlawry. Your State has now accom- 
plished this. The drunkard factory, the gambling hell, and the house 
of death now stand on the same legal footing. The law will do its part, 
but you must do yours. The Christian Church cannot abandon the 
preaching of the Gospel of peace because law protects the people from 
violence. 

" The State of Maine has been wise, and has to-day more Good Tem- 
plars in proportion to population than any other State in the Union, 
while sister organizations are equally strong. The law blocks up the 
road to crime and vice, and makes the road to manhood easier. Let the 
Order go out to the highways and byways and persuade men to take the 
brighter, better road. The law having closed up the dram shops, you 
must convince the victim as an individual that it is unwise, unmanly, 
and foolish to try to dig around and find a hidden cesspool. The work 



260 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

of the Order in this State should hereafter be wholly educational. The 
scientific truths concerning the effects of alcoholic liquors should be 
widely disseminated by speaker, book, paper, and document, and the 
moral work of redeeming fallen men should be pressed vigorously. A 
temperance educational campaign, such as Iowa has never seen, should 
be pressed at every point. It may be asked if Good Templars should 
not devote their whole time to enforcing the law. We answer, No. The 
Government has machinery and officials, and our work must be to edu- 
cate the people so that only officers who will enforce the law can be 
elected. Press the organization of lodges until there is not a town, vil- 
lage, or hamlet but has a Good Templar band. Thus, marching on the 
highway of success, you shall plant your banners on the hills of victory. 

" Theodore D. Kanotjse, P.K.W.G.T., Wisconsin. 
"John Sobieski, P.R.W.G.C., Illinois. 
"George W. Bain, P.G.W.C.T., Kentucky. 
"J. W. Nichols, P.G.W.C.T., Illinois. 
"E. W. Chafin, D.C.T., Wisconsin. 
"John B. Finch, P.G.W.C.T., Nebraska. 
"Frank J. Sibley, G.L., Nebraska." 

The Des Moines State Register published the address 
with an editorial comment headed : 

"THE GOOD ADVICE OF NOBLE HELPERS." 

" In the great struggle for the amendment in Iowa, the fight so actively 
and splendidly made at every step of its progress, the temperance people 
of Iowa have had the great help of as strong and noble a band of workers 
as ever lent their services to any cause in this State. Indeed, we believe 
never before in the history of Iowa, or indeed in its contests for human- 
ity, have so many strong men from other States taken part in our strug- 
gles. With an ardor like soldiers fighting under inspiration, with the 
strength of men who both knew the courage it takes to lead in revolu- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 261 

tion and had the courage to do it, these gallant orators from sister States 
hare done as noble and faithful work for man in Iowa in the past few 
months as any men ever did on the hustings. They have made the 
struggle their own, and have given of their time without limit of sacri- 
fice, arid have done everything and anything that strong and generous 
men could do. Indeed, we think that the entire nobility of this cause, 
the grandeur of heart and conscience and unselfishness there is in it, 
have been most fully proved among a thousand proofs of it, in the great 
and noble work that these outside men have done, in leaving their own 
business, their own States, and coming here to help carry Iowa without 
fail. All hail to this noble corps of Christian workers, and God bless 
them and make the generous work they have done for this State but the 
guaranty of an equally rjoble victory in their own States for the cause 
that is so near their hearts. They will bear with them always the grati- 
tude and love of the best people of Iowa, and all the gates on our bor- 
ders will ever stand open in welcome to them all. 

" "We may not, with justice or courtesy, particularize as to this splen- 
did band of outside workers, nor mention one by name to praise him 
more than others. All are equally deserving of praise in effort. While 
some may have had more power and ability to do, and eloquence to 
plead, all have equal heart and equal devotion, and all will be equally 
preserved in the gratitude of Iowa. Not the least valuable in their work 
in Iowa is their card of thanks, warning, and appeal that some of these 
gentlemen, who were in Des Moines yesterday, left to the custodians of 
the cause and the guardians of the victory in this State. "We publish 
it below. It says what we were moved to say ourselves, but which, 
being so much better said by these gentlemen, we print below, endorsing 
every word, and thanking the authors of it for making it. Its words are 
the counsel of abounding wisdom, and we hope it will serve to hold the 
line in Iowa for the rest of the battle — a battle which is not yet a quar- 
ter fought. " 

When the Ohio campaign for prohibition commenced 



262 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

in 1883, Mr. Finch was one of the first to receive a 
call to come to the State and help carry the amendment. 
With Senator John Sherman and gubernatorial candidate 
J. B. Foraker and Governor Charles Foster leading the 
Republican Party and denouncing prohibition, and candi- 
date George Hoadley leading the opposition to it from the 
Democratic side, it was felt that the strongest and ablest 
defenders of the principle would be constantly needed on 
the platform to lay bare the fallacies and sophistries of these 
distinguished political leaders. 

How well and faithfully Mr. Finch performed the diffi- 
cult labors of that campaign is told by Mrs. Mary A. 
Woodbridge, the able and skilful general of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, who conducted the campaign 
of the prohibition forces : 

' ' I knew John B. Finch when he wrought as one who thought the wel- 
fare of the nation depended upon his able, skilful, honest, upright dis- 
charge of the important trust committed to him. 

" He came to Ohio in June, 1883, and with brief exceptions was in the 
State until the close of the prohibitory amendment campaign on Novem- 
ber 9th — more than four months of unceasing labor, during which time 
he never referred to hardships — of hours early or late ; of two or three 
addresses a day, or of long distances travelled to meet appointments. All 
seemed to him a part of the service which he gladly performed, though 
sometimes battling with disease. 

' ' After one of his mighty efforts he was suddenly stricken, and while 
patiently enduring untold agony, his constant fear was that he might 
fail to meet an important engagement the following day. Under the in- 
fluence of medicine he rested, but arose with the morning. Friends who 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 263 

ministered to him in the night endeavored to dissuade him, but in vain. 
Firmly he said, ' I must be up and doing; it will not be long.' And 
thus the strong soul marched on ! He was never baffled, but when some 
new phase presented itself, he would diligently study the problem, until 
re-enforced he stood before his opponent a battery of facts and figures, 
and poured them forth with a power that shattered and shrivelled all 
objections. He carefully examined his own position, and as keenly 
questioned the standing of others. He proclaimed total abstinence for 
the individual, and total prohibition of the liquor traffic for State and 
nation. The eloquence of his deep conviction and the enthusiasm of 
his faith encouraged doubting hearts. 

' ' One Sabbath evening, in an elegant church, he found no minister of 
the Gospel willing to ask God's blessing to rest upon his service. The 
President of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was troubled, 
but when the Scriptures had been read, Mr. Finch calmly rose and 
poured forth his soul in prayer. Those ministers will never forget the 
words of truth that fell from his lips that evening. 

" The balance and versatility of his mind were an astonishment to his 
co -laborers. He was by nature a detective. Nothing that could be 
made useful in the warfare in which he was engaged escaped him. He 
was the first to learn of the intrigue by which the amendment was to be 
crushed. Walking to and fro in the parlors of the Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union Headquarters in Cleveland, he turned suddenly, and 
addressed me : 

" ' Sister Mary, our cause is lost ! Ohio politicians, State and national, 
have held council in a murderer's den in Cincinnati, and the word has 
gone forth, " The amendment must not carry." Speak it not, but work as 
for life, that we may have done our part, and the curse may not rest 
upon us as unfaithful servants.' The array of facts I presented, the en- 
couragement gathered from telegrams and letters, were all in vain. He 
replied, ' You are helpless as children ; the prohibition vote is to be 
counted out. I have it from one who has already received the com- 



264 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

mand, but will not obey it.' He first discovered that the amendments 
were to be printed incorrectly upon the tickets of the old parties, and 
aroused our overworked women in various places to almost superhuman 
effort to counteract the effect. 

" The press bitterly assailed him. When reading the cruel attacks, 
his thin lips would compress, his matchless eyes would flash, but he 
would sit in silence until self was conquered, then calmly say, ' My work 
will bear the test of God ; they will not dare to stand before Him with 
those falsehoods upon their lips.' Finding his popularity ever increas- 
ing, politicians branded him as a traitor ; and when it was proclaimed 
that, ' as a Democrat, he had aided and abetted secession,' and he was 
asked, How shall the charge be met ? he answered, ' Give the date of my 
birth, 1852, and perhaps they will not only recognize the falsity of their 
charge, but see their contemptible meanness as others see it.' 

" Mr. Finch did not begin his amendment work in Ohio. He had 
before struck mighty blows for the cause in Kansas and Iowa, and had 
greatly aided in creating the public sentiment that secured the adoption 
of constitutional prohibition in those States. 

" A compilation of his speeches had been published under the title of 
' The People vs. The Liquor Traffic. ' Through the generosity of Hon. 
Ferdinand Schumacher, the Ohio Woman' s Christian Temperance Union 
was able to send a copy of this work to each minister of the State. 
Thus Mr. Finch's name became a household word among the people. 
Before his arrival the demand for his labor was far in excess of the pos- 
sibility of supply. Frequent appeals were received for his return to 
fields where he had stirred the people to action, with assurance that the 
community would vote right if he could be heard again. 

"He adapted his addresses to all classes. State officials, legislators, 
ministers, magistrates, business men, and farmers were alike impressed 
with his logic, clear, forcible argument and pointed illustrations. He felt 
his personal responsibility, and endeavored to impress upon others the 
duty of extirpating the liquor traffic through a vote for prohibition. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 265 

" Ere he left the State, the eyes of the nation were upon him. Drunk- 
ard-makers and their abettors feared him, and lovers of home and good 
government rejoiced in him with thanksgiving. Maine and Khode 
Island witnessed his heroic labors, and when the battle waged in Michi- 
gan he again buckled on his armor and entered the hottest of the fight. 
His crowning victory was his debate with D. Bethune Dufneld, the pro- 
slavery, anti-prohibition advocate, of Detroit. 

' ' Temporary victory or defeat were as one to him ; he worked for the 
fulfilment of the prophecy of Bethelehem — ' Glory to God in the highest, 
and on earth peace, good-will toward men, ' which he saw could not be 
until the liquor traffic was destroyed. 

" Ten days before his death, when a similar campaign was in progress 
in the Territory of Dakota, in which we were both engaged, there came 
to me the request, ' Wait until the afternoon train ; I will arrive before 
noon.' Never had I seen him look physically better, nor listened to his 
speech when the radiance of his intellect more impressed me. He told 
me of his hopes and fears for the crucial year 1888, and seemed as one 
inspired. As I entered the carriage to go to the station, he said, ' I have 
told you what I believe should be done in the campaign of next year ; 
what I would seek to have accomplished if my hand were on the helm ; 
but it will not be there ! ' 

" On the following Wednesday we met for a moment at Yankton, 
where his hearty hand-shake, pleasant greeting, and kind farewell 
cheered -and strengthened me. But five days, and then flashed to the 
civilized world the words, ' John B. Finch is dead ! ' Not a nation only, 
but a vast host from North, South, East, and West stood dumb with sor- 
row, for their chieftain was gone and they would not be comforted. 

" The earthly chrysalis was broken on that memorable night, October 
3d, 1887, and the wings of the new being, illumined with heavenly light, 
fluttered in the zephyrs of the eternal morning. He put on the fresh- 
ness of perpetual prime, and his cheeks were mantled with eternal 
bloom." 



266 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

In the contest for the adoption of a prohibitory amend- 
ment in Maine, in 1884, Mr. Finch, as the representative 
of Good Templary, stood in the front of the fight. Thirty 
years of continual defeat had discouraged and disorganized 
the liquor forces, but in a few towns and cities there was 
some activity in opposing the amendment. The principal 
danger feared was that friends of the cause would feel 
secure in the long-standing statute, and neglect the oppor- 
tunity to insure permanence by incorporating prohibition 
in the fundamental law. 

To every danger point the local managers sent Mr. 
Finch. 

On the evening following the great victory the temper- 
ance people of Portland gave a reception to Mr. and Mrs. 
Finch in honor of his work in the State. Mr. Chase, 
Chairman of Committee of Arrangements, presented Mrs. 
Finch an elegantly bound volume of poems with these words : 

"Mrs. Finch, we appreciate the sacrifice you make in 
giving your husband to the service of humanity in his 
efforts to save the nation from the curse of strong .drink. 
Your home is often very lonely, because you are willing to 
have his work given to the making of other homes happy. 
As a small token of our appreciation of this noble sacrifice, 
we present you this volume." 

That grand old hero, Keal Dow, of Portland, Me., says 
of Mr. Finch : 

" I was shocked and almost stunned by the news of the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 2G7 

sudden death of John B. Finch — such a blow as it was to 
the temperance cause in which he was one of our ablest and 
most successful workers. He generously helped us in 
Maine during our campaign for constitutional prohibition, 
and his work had a large share in obtaining the grand re- 
sult, a majority of 47,075 in favor of the suppression for- 
ever of the manufacture, sale, and keeping for sale of 
intoxicating liquors. ' ' 

While the Rhode Island Legislature were considering the 
question of submitting an amendment in 1886, Mr. Finch 
was in the State pleading for its adoption and consulting 
with State leaders upon plans for a campaign, if the Legis- 
lature should take favorable action. 

Unable to return because of serious illness when the cam- 
paign opened, yet he was there in spirit and influence, for 
he donated several thousand copies of his speeches, which 
were widely scattered among the reading and thinking 
people of the State, and no doubt contributed toward the 
victory won at the polls. 

H. "W". Conant, Grand Chief Templar of Rhode Island, 
writes : 

" Words fail to express my estimate of Mr. Finch as a man or as an 
advocate of our great cause. 

" Mr. Finch contributed essentially to the success of the Constitu- 
tional Amendment campaign in Rhode Island, although he was pre- 
vented from taking part in the last part of the canvass by an attack of 
rheumatism of the heart, which sent him to his home. He had set the 
ball in motion in the distribution of literature. 



268 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

"Personally he was to me a very firm friend, whose advice was al- 
ways considered most valuable in the work of the Good Templars and 
all other phases of the temperance work in which we were alike in- 
terested. 

" His death seems to be an irreparable loss to the cause, but He who 
has a greater interest in this cause than we can have will overrule it for 
our best good. " 

In the campaign for the amendment in Michigan, in 
March, 1887, Mr. Finch made a marked impression on the 
canvass. 

A telegram came to him while he was u in the field " 
engaged every night in addressing public meetings : 

■-' Will you answer D. Bethune Duffield in Detroit Sat- 
urday evening, March 26th 8" 

Weary and worn with his constant labor, he felt unable 
to comply with the request, and telegraphed back, " An- 
swer him yourselves ; I am too worn to prepare. ■ ' 

The committee insisted upon his coming, and sent several 
very urgent telegrams, which finally induced him to give 
his consent, and he at last sent the following answer : 

" Will answer Duffield as requested." 

The great anti-prohibition meeting addressed by Mr. 
Duffield, a prominent lawyer of Detroit, Professor Kent, 
of Ann Arbor University, and Senator Jones, of Florida, 
was held on Monday evening, March 21st, and Mr. Finch 
received the published reports of the speeches on Wednes- 
day, the 23d, leaving only three days for preparation. He 
analyzed the statements of the three speakers carefully, and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 269 

was impressed with their recklessness of assertion concern- 
ing the positions of public men and the conditions of affairs 
in prohibition States. He determined to make a substan- 
tial refutation of what he believed to be deliberate false- 
hoods. Accordingly he sent more than a score of telegrams 
to men whose position had been misstated ; to officers of 
legislatures charged in the speeches with the intention of 
overthrowing prohibition statutes, and to prominent citizens 
in the States where prohibition was alleged to be a failure. 

Armed with the answers to these telegrams, he was able 
to add crushing weight to his sledge-hammer blows against 
the flimsy framework of falsehood and sophistry reared by 
Duffield, Kent, and Jones. His speech made a profound 
sensation in the ranks of the enemy, and they found it diffi- 
cult to cope with the sturdy truths it contained. 

The speech was delivered to an immense audience in 
Beecher's Hall. Mr. Finch said : 

" Ladies and Gentlemen : For years the question of what is the cor- 
rect policy of government in dealing with the alcoholic liquor traffic has 
agitated this State. It has been discussed in the pulpit and upon the 
platform, written about in the press, prayed about in the prayer-meeting, 
and sworn about in the political caucuses. At last the Legislature of 
Michigan in its wisdom has seen fit, by proj>osing an amendment to its 
organic law, to refer this whole question to the voters for their decision 
on the 4th day of April next. The question involved in this submission 
is the existence or non-existence of a great traffic. Last Monday night 
in the Opera House in this city a mass-meeting was addressed by prom- 
inent speakers in opposition to the proposed prohibitory amendment, 



270 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

and I have been asked by leading citizens to come here to-night and 
reply to the statements made by the learned gentlemen who addressed 
that meeting. 

" First, let me call your attention to the difference in the conditions 
under which the two meetings are held. As I have already stated, the 
issues involved in this campaign are questions affecting the existence of 
a great business— a business in which thousands of men are employed 
and in which millions of dollars are invested. I hardly need stand be- 
fore an audience of this character and urge that questions involving such 
interests should be discussed calmly and investigated intelligently. 

" One of the speakers at the Monday night meeting, the Hon. Charles 
W. Jones, from the United States Senate, in his speech asserted : ' This 
is not a sentimental age ; this is eminently a practical age ; and I am 
sure there are no more practical people in the world than the people of 
the State of Michigan.' His experience along sentimental lines in this 
State will preclude me from challenging his judgment, and I am sure if 
he has reached this conclusion, the fair State of Florida will not long be 
without a second representative in the Senate of the United States. If, 
by leaving his post in the Senate and devoting his time to sentiment in 
Detroit, he has failed to make the people of the State of Michigan senti- 
mental, I am sure they are not a sentimental people, but are fully ready 
and duly competent to discuss and settle an issue of so great importance 
as the question of prohibiting the alcoholic liquor traffic. 

' ' The advocates of the amendment simply ask for a full and fair in- 
vestigation of all the facts which may be brought forward during this 
campaign. In a government of the people, by the people, and for the 
people, freedom of speech, freedom of investigation, and freedom of action 
is the only guarantee of wise and conservative legislation. With this 
thought I do not propose to challenge the intelligence, the motives, or 
the conscience of any man who votes against this amendment, and I 
only regret that the opposition have deemed it wise, by systematic organ- 
ization, to threaten to ruin the business of any man who dares speak or 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 271 

write or vote for this amendment. Free America is reaching a danger- 
ous point when the Strohs, the Kuoffs, the Goebels, before they can 
speak the American language, may say to American business men, ' You 
shall not examine, discuss, or determine matters affecting the policy of 
the State.' 

" The meeting on Monday night was held under the boycotting pres- 
sure of the saloons of the city. A prominent business man who signed 
the call for that meeting informed me to-day that at the time of the sign- 
ing he did not read the call, had no knowledge of the statements that it 
contained, and really had little thought of what the meeting meant until 
he saw the call in print, and said, ' I should not have signed it had not 
my business interests been threatened.' I submit that any trade or in- 
stitution whose only defence is boycotting, bulldozing, and intimidation 
is entitled to very little sympathy at the hands of intelligent men. 

' ' I regret very much that the gentlemen who addressed the meeting 
on Monday night saw fit to avoid the main issue involved in this contest 
because it must inevitably create the impression they could not or dare 
not meet it ; and, in order that we may intelligently consider all the 
points raised by them, let me examine the real issue and state the object 
and the purpose of the Prohibitionists of this State. This is made 
doubly necessary by the speakers in the previous meeting placing in the 
mouths of Prohibitionists words which they never used, and making 
them assume positions which they never maintained. 

" AH the speakers distinguished themselves in demolishing a man of 
straw of their own creation. Professor Kent said, ' The Prohibitionists 
say we are in favor of prohibition, though the result should be that 
whiskey should be entirely free.' In all fairness the learned professor 
should have stated what Prohibitionist used such an expression and 
where it was used. It is not an honorable act to manufacture expres- 
sions to place in the mouths of opponents. I say to Professor Kent that 
Prohibitionists have made no such statement. Prohibitionists attack 
taxation, because under taxation or license whiskey is free, and they ask 



272 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 

for prohibition because in the light of experience they know that prohi- 
bition does and can prohibit. 

" The proposed amendment simply operates as an indictment to bring 
the liquor business into the court for the peox^le and place it on trial for 
crimes against society and government. There are but two ways in our 
Government for trying institutions of this class — the one autocratic, by 
the Legislature ; the other democratic, by the people. The Legislature 
of this State might have passed a prohibitory law outlawing the liquor 
business, but such a law would have been the opinion of a majority of 
the members, and would have been entitled to the respect accorded to 
the judgment and conscience of that number of men. The cry would 
have been at once raised that it was in advance of public sentiment, that 
the people were not educated up to the position, and the liquor-sellers, 
using these cries, would have organized to defy the statute and to con- 
tinue their business in violation of law. The Legislature, in my judg- 
ment, chose the correct method when they referred the whole question 
to the people. Constitutional amendment is the American method of 
revolution. The provision for a peaceable change in the principles 
underlying our Government provides for a revolution by ballots instead 
of a revolution by bullets ; and when Mr. Duffield steps out of his way to 
impugn the intelligence, the honesty, the integrity, and the conscience 
of the Legislature by saying, ' Political manoeuvring and tactics rather 
than an honest opinion on the part of two thirds of the Legislature that 
this amendment is called for is the secret of its submission, ' he weak- 
ens his case by introducing special pleading to justify this attack. "When 
he says : ' We recall the fact also that in 1868 an amendment was sub- 
mitted to the people prohibiting license of the sale of liquor as a bever- 
age, and it was defeated by a majority of 13,000 votes,' and forgets to 
state that the clause prohibiting the license of the sale of liquor as a 
beverage was in the old Constitution, which it was proposed to overturn 
by the new one at the same election, and that the new Constitution 
was defeated by 39,000 votes, he must think that the old people of this 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 273 

State have short memories and that the young people do not read his- 
tory. And when he stated that in 1876 ' the people struck out from our 
present Constitution the old equivocal clause forbidding the license of 
liquor selling,' and neglects to state that the Supreme Court of the State, 
by its decisions sustaining tax laws, had made the clause utterly worth- 
less, so that it was voted against by temperance men, he leaves the posi- 
tion of a lawyer and descends to the level of a pettifogger. Should the 
Legislature have submitted the amendment ? For years the people of 
this State have discussed the relation of the liquor traffic to our free 
Government and civilization. Time and again the Legislature has been 
petitioned to submit this question to the people ; a political party cast- 
ing 25,000 votes at the last election has been organized on this issue 
alone ; and you must admit that if there was ever a question which cir- 
cumstances justify submitting to the people for their examination and 
final determination, it is the question of what shall be done with the 
alcoholic liquor traffic in the State of Michigan. But all side issues are 
out of place in this discussion. The fact is that the amendment has 
been submitted, and that on the 4th of April the question of its adoption 
or its rejection will be settled. The issue involved is the life or the 
death of the drunkard-making traffic. The business of liquor-selling 
and making drunkards is on trial, not the men who are in the business. 
The issues raised are not personal issues. If there is any liquor-seller 
in Detroit who labors under the delusion that he is of importance 
enough to have this temperance movement aimed at him, he has a very 
much better opinion of himself than we have. If you could catch every 
liquor -seller in the State of Michigan to-night, tie him hand and foot 
and drown him in the Detroit River, unless you could root up the ac- 
cursed law which propagates liquor-sellers as a hot-bed propagates vege- 
tation, you would have another crop in three months just as mean as 
the old one. But if you root up the law that makes legal a business in 
which a man can make more money with less capital and less brains and 
less character than any other business on earth, the good men, if there 



2U THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

are any such in the business, will go into other trades and professions, 
and the mean men will fetch up in State prisons, where they should 
have been long ago. The liquor business is simply on trial on account 
of the record it has made in society. Society never tries men or institu- 
tions for their names. It tries men for their acts, institutions for their 
results. The law of this State would recognize one difference between 
me and my friend David Preston. It would recognize me as an alien, it 
would recognize him as a citizen ; but though I am an alien, though I 
pay no taxes in this State, I am as safe as my friend — that is, as long as 
1 behave myself as well as he behaves himself ; but if at the close of 
this meeting I should go out of the hall, and as I went out should draw 
a knife from my coat and bury it to the hilt in the heart of some person, 
then I would be arrested and locked up, and he would be allowed to go 
home. Now you would not arrest me because my name is Finch, and 
let him go because his name is Preston. You would not arrest me be- 
cause I am a lawyer, and let him go because he is a banker. You arrest 
me because, of my own free will, I had taken human life. For the act I 
would be arrested, for the act I would be tried, for the act I would be 
hung ; and as society would deal with me, it would deal with anybody 
before me. As long as man lives in society sober, temperate, honest, so 
long society defends and protects him ; but when a man wills to com- 
mit crime, wills to injure another socially or financially, then the Gov- 
ernment reaches out and takes that man from the ranks of other men 
and tries him, not for what the Government has done, but for what he 
has done ; not because it wants to, but because it must do it. The pun- 
ishment is not the result of the act of the Government, but the result of 
the act of the man who made the punishment necessary. As society 
deals with men it deals with institutions and trades. 

" As long as an institution or a business or a trade promotes the in- 
terest of society, so long the Government defends and protects that 
trade ; but when a trade or a business establishes a criminal character 
by the production of vice, crime, pauperism, and misery, then the Gov- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 275 

eminent arrests the business and tries it for its results. In this way the 
Governments of most of the States have tried arid condemned lotteries. 
The Governments of cities try and suppress slaughter-houses, fat-render- 
ing establishments, soap factories, and gunpowder factories, and the Gov- 
ernment of the United States has tried and is punishing the practice of 
polygamy by the Brighamite Mormon Church. The Prohibitionists ask 
that the alcoholic liquor traffic as represented by the saloon, the beer 
garden, the dance hall, the concert saloon, the dive, the brothel, and the 
gambling hell shall be tried exactly as the Government tries lotteries, 
slaughter-houses, and the Mormon Church. The charges against the 
liquor business are plain, positive, definite, and specific ; the question 
raised is simply the guilt or the innocence of this business as a social 
institution, and if guilty the proper punishment for crime of such 
enormity is entire destruction of the business. 

" I will not to-night take time to prove the guilt of the alcoholic 
traffic. The men in the business concede its guilt. This trial has now 
been going forward for weeks, and no one has stood in the pulpit or on 
the platform to defend the history, the record, or the results of the alco- 
holic liquor traffic as a social institution. If the Church had been as- 
sailed, the Church would have been defended ; if the dry-goods trade 
had been assailed, the dry-goods trade would have been defended ; if the 
school had been assailed, it would have been defended ; but here is a 
great business on trial for its life ; the men engaged are worth millions 
of dollars ; no one can doubt their ability to employ talent to present 
their case, if they have any case to present, and yet this trial is drawing 
to a close without a single defender standing before the people to urge 
the innocence of the charge made against it, to justify its record, or to 
claim by its own merits that it ought to be allowed to live. If you assail 
the Democratic Party, the man who defends it is a Democrat ; if you 
assail the Republican Party, the man who defends it is a Eepublican ; 
if you assail the Methodist Church, the man who defends it is a Method- 
ist ; but if you assail the liquor traffic, the man who steps up to defend 



276 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

it claims to be just as good a temperance man as you are. The meeting 
of Monday night is a sample of meetings held in defence of this system. 
The farmer who goes out to defend the interests of the farmers wears 
the weapons of a farmer ; the printer wears the armor of his trade ; the 
merchant wears the armor of his craft ; but the apologist for the con- 
tinuance of the liquor traffic commences his speech with the statement, 
' I am a temperance man,' and denies that he represents the liquor in- 
terest or is friendly to its continuance. In justice to my cause, I call 
your attention to the fact that the saloon-keepers of this State unani- 
mously indorse the speeches of the Monday night meeting, and that they 
are circulating those speeches by thousands over the State. A minister 
who would preach a sermon which could be indorsed and circulated by 
the devil to sustain and promote sin should be expelled from the Chris- 
tian pulpit, A temperance doctrine which is indorsed by the brewers, 
the distillers, the saloon-keepers, the dive-keepers, and circulated by 
them as a defence of their trade should be repudiated by all enemies of 
drunkenness, immorality, and vice. Mr. Duffield, Mr. Kent, and others 
protest again and again that they do not represent the liquor interests. 
Why this reiterated protestation ? "Why is it necessary for them to con- 
stantly affirm that they are temperance men ? Is it because they feel 
the pressure of the old rule : ' A man is known by the company he 
keeps, ' and because they know the indorsement and support of the 
liquor-sellers throws doubt on them and this doctrine ? The speech I 
shall make here to-night will not be circulated by the liquor-sellers of 
this State, and I do not envy the speakers of Monday night their cham- 
pions and their defenders. 

' ' Ladies and gentlemen, I would go half way around the world once 
and pay my own fare to find a man with cheek hard enough and impu- 
dence great enough to stand on the public platform and claim that the 
public bar-room, judged by its history, its record, and its results in this 
country, was entitled to live in any decent State, in any decent nation. 
I have never heard such a defence, I never shall. The business is guilty, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 217 

guilty, guilty, and the only question is the method of dealing with the 
criminal. 

But two methods are proposed — the one license or tax, the other pro- 
hibition. I hardly need stand here to demonstrate that license and tax 
in their effects upon the liquor trade are identical. I appreciate the 
sneer of Mr. Duffield when he says, ' Shall Tom, Dick, and Harry, hired 
at $10 or $20 a night, go on the stump of prohibition, and claim that taxa- 
tion is identical with license ? ' I regret as much as Mr. Duffield can 
that the poverty of our clients will not justify our receiving a larger fee ; 
but our misfortune is his gain, for our clients have been made paupers 
by his clients. We stand here to defend the drunkards' wives, the 
drunkards' children, and the drunkards' homes. He stood on the plat- 
form to oppose the destruction of the liquor traffic. The millions of 
dollars in the liquor business of this State have been drawn from the 
homes, from the wives and the children of Michigan. I would rather 
stand before this audience to plead in behalf of the wrecked woman and 
the ruined child for nothing, than to stand to plead in behalf of the 
bloated oligarchy of liquor-sellers for all the money in the blood-stained 
coffers in that trade in the State. His sneer was undoubtedly made to 
cover the weakness of his position ; let us inquire what are the facts in 
regard to the identity of these two methods. Under license, grog-shops 
exist and are protected by the State ; under tax, grog-shops exist and 
are protected by the State. Mr. Duffield says : ' Were they familiar with 
the Michigan law they would drop their license feature and adopt the 
taxation and regulation style.' Taxes are levied for two purposes — rev- 
enue and regulation ; and Mr. Duffield admits that the tax law combines 
both of these features. Judge Cooley says : ' The protection of Govern- 
ment being the consideration for which taxes are demanded, all parties 
who receive or are entitled to that protection may be called upon to ren- 
der an equivalent.' I pay taxes on my home for the protection that 
Government gives that home. Under license the man who has paid the 
license fee is entitled to the protection of Government, and Mr. Duffield 



278 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

will not dare claim that under taxation the man who has paid the tax is 
not entitled to protection ! If a mob should attack a saloon, would not 
the Government be compelled to defend it ? Is there any legal process 
by which the saloon may be destroyed if it complies with the tax law ? 
Is not a saloon-keeper who pays the tax entitled to protection and de- 
fence from civil government ? Mr. Duffield says, ' Taxes are burdens,' 
but he is too good a lawyer not to know the burden is borne for the 
greater benefit of the protection afforded by the Government, to support 
which the tax is levied. Juggle with words as much as you please, and 
you will not be able to show any difference in the effects of the saloon 
which under regulation pays $500 license, and the saloon which under 
taxation pays $500 tax. Government permits everything that it does not 
prohibit. Under your old prohibitory law the liquor business had no 
existence in Michigan, and there were no property rights in liquor. To- 
day under your tax law the liquor business has a legal existence in this 
State, and there are property rights in liquor. Now, what gives it this 
legal existence and what creates these property rights if it is not the tax 
law ? To say that the Government which recognizes the existence of the 
saloon by receiving tax from it, and which recognizes the evil effects of 
the existence of the saloon by providing for its regulation, does not 
sanction its existence under those regulations, is to talk nonsense. And 
when the learned Professor Kent, from the Law Department of Ann 
Arbor University, confounds the taxing power of the general Govern- 
ment with the police power of the State, it is not to be wondered at that 
the country is full of poor lawyers. And when he says, ' When, in con- 
sequence of the war, it was necessary, by Federal legislation, to tax the 
sale of liquor, the liquor-dealers undertook to say that in consequence 
of that tax their business was protected in cities where the law forbade 
it, they took the case to the Supreme Court of the United States, and 
that court decided that taxation was not license and no approval of the 
business,' the learned professor should know and ought to have stated, 
that the decision was that the tax permit of the general Government was 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 279 

no bar to proceedings against the liquor business under the police 
power of the States ; and with his intelligence I am sure he would not 
wish to be understood as holding that the payment of the $25 tax to the 
Federal Government is not a bar to proceedings against the liquor busi- 
ness by the general Government under its present law.* While the 
United States tax will not act as a permit in the State as against the 
police power of the State, it does act as a permit by the general Govern- 
ment against its own power. But the point I wish to maintain, outside 
of all legal technicalities and quibbles, is that the social effects of a 
licensed saloon and the social effects of a taxed saloon are identical. 

The quibbling and twisting over the distinction between taxation and 
license is a confession on the part of the advocates of tax that the liquor 
business is wrong. If it is not wrong, why object to licensing it ? If 
the liquor business is right, there is no reason why the Government 
should not license and permit its existence. If the liquor business is 
wrong, then to seek to justify its existence upon the ground that the 
Government has not specially said, while deriving benefits from the 
traffic, that the traffic may exist, is the trick of a sophist. But, for the 
sake of the argument to-night, let us grant that there is a difference be- 
tween license and tax, and say that the methods of punishment for the 
liquor crime now being discussed in this State are tax and prohibition. 
From this point I desire to go forward to prove that of all the humbugs, 
frauds, and failures ever written upon the statute-books of a free State, 
the liquor tax laws of this country are the worst ; that they never have 
been enforced ; that they never will be enforced ; that they never can 
be enforced. First, because they are wrong in theory. There appear in 
society three classes of institutions : good, part good and part bad, 
and bad. Government protects and defends the good, regulates and 
restrains the part good and part bad, and prohibits the bad. Begula- 
tion implies something good in the thing regulated that is to be devel- 
oped by regulation. You regulate to develop, not to destroy. You take 
your boy across your knee and regulate him, to develop the good traits 



280 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

and repress the bad traits in the boy ; you do not regulate to kill. You 
take the whip in your hand to regulate the ugly horse, not to destroy, 
but to develop the good tendencies and destroy the bad tendencies. In 
one corner of your yard is an apple-tree, crooked as a horn. Shall it be 
pulled up ? "No. The apple-tree is good, the crooks are bad. You 
drive down a stake to regulate the crooks out of it, because in after years 
the tree will reward the labor. In the other corner is a thorn-bush as 
crooked as the apple-tree. Do you regulate that ? No, because it is 
utterly worthless, and the time spent in regulation would be useless. 
There in a lot is a calf with a broken leg. What do you do ? Eegulate 
the leg so as to mend the bad fracture, and in after years the cow pays 
for the labor. In another lot is a mad dog with a broken leg. Do you 
ever regulate that leg ? No. The more you fuss with the animal, the 
worse off you are. It is utterly bad ; the remedy is to prohibit exist- 
ence. In your lot stands a large apple-tree with knotty limbs, with little 
runts of apples. Will you cut it down ? No. Eegulate it, trim it up, 
and graft it. Ten years pass away and here is a large apple, the legiti- 
mate fruit of regulation ; but regulate the grog-shops of Detroit with 
your accursed tax law from now until Gabriel blows his trumpet, and 
the last fruit you will pick off the accursed things is the same you get 
to-day — ' bummers ' every time. Do you expect you can ever regulate 
the grog-shop so as to produce Christians ? that you can ever regulate it 
so that its customers will be good men, their wives happy and their 
children happy ? Do you not know that as long as you permit the thing 
to exist, that just in the same proportion it will breed drunkards, 
broken-hearted women, and beggar children ? It is bad and all bad, vile 
and all vile, evil and all evil, and should be destroyed The system of 
taxation and regulation has been tried in England for more than four 
hundred years, and under it the liquor business has grown to be the 
master of the British nation. In this country, under the system of reg- 
ulation and taxation, the liquor-shops have doubled in numbers within 
the last twenty-five years. There is not a lawyer before me who does 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 281 

not know that it will not take one half the force to enforce prohibition 
that it does to fail to enforce license or taxation. The reason is that 
taxation gives the liquor business a standing in society, creates property 
rights, and makes a majority of all the sales legal. Under it, violation 
becomes the exception, and the legal sale the rule. In this way the 
presumption of innocence is in favor of the liquor business. To secure 
a conviction you must break down the presumption of the legal sale and 
establish the exception of the illegal or unrighteous sale. Your tax law 
prohibits the sale of liquor to minors and licenses the sale to adults. 
In this State you prohibit murder. You start down the streets of Detroit 
in the morning accompanied by your boy, who is seventeen years old. 
As you approach a saloon, he says, £ Good-morning, father,' and enters. 
You wait. Two hours after he comes out stupidly drunk. You have 
watched the door during that time ; you know he has not left the place. 
He went in sober and came out drunk. Is that any evidence that the 
man in the x^lace sold him liquor in violation of law ? No. I go into 
another building later ; you see me come out, and soon after you dis- 
cover that a man has been murdered ; he has been killed by a knife in 
his heart. You come to my home, you find blood on my coat, scratches 
on my hands. Is there any evidence that I killed the man ? Unless I 
can show how the blood came on my coat and the scratches on my hands, 
unless I can show what I was doing in that place, how the man was 
killed, you will send me to State' s prison for life for his murder. Yet 
the evidence that would send me to State's prison for murder would 
not touch a taxed liquor-dealer for selling liquor to your boy and send- 
ing him to a drunkard's grave and a drunkard's hereafter. The law 
prohibits the sale of liquor on certain days. You enter a saloon on one 
of those days, see a man step to the bar, hear him call for liquor, see 
the liquor turned out, drank, and paid for. Can you swear that liquor 
was bought and drunk in that place ? If you think so, go upon the wit- 
ness-stand and swear that the taxed drunkard-maker broke the law and 
sold liquor in violation of the statute. The defendant's attorney asks 



282 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

you where you stood in the saloon. You answer, ' Just inside the door.' 
'How far from the bar?' 'Ten feet.' 'Can you smell whiskey ten 
feet?' 'No.' 'Did you taste that stuff that man drank?' 'No.' 
'Did you smell it?' 'No.' 'How do you know it was whiskey?' 
' Well, it looked like whiskey.' ' Are there other things that look like 
whiskey?' 'Yes.' 'Will you swear that it was whiskey?' 'Well, I 
think it was.' ' You are not swearing to what you think, you are swear- 
ing to what you know ; will you swear it was whiskey ? ' And the an- 
swer must be, ' No.' To secure a conviction under the tax law you must 
enter a saloon, induce the liquor-seller to sell liquor to you in violation 
of the law, thereby becoming particeps crimlnis. You must turn the 
liquor down your own throat so as to be able to swear you know what 
it was. Then enter the court-room and hear the judge charge the jury 
that a man who deliberately induces another man to commit a crime 
becomes particeps crimlnis ; that his evidence should be thoroughly cor- 
roborated before it should have weight with the jury. If it took the 
same evidence to convict a man of murder that it does of illegal liquor- 
selling under the tax law, the witness would have to swear that he rode 
astride the bullet and saw it enter the murdered man's heart. The re- 
sult is that the tax law of this State is openly and impudently defied. 
This Mr. Duffield admits when he says, ' The only objection urged 
against it is that it is not carried out. That may be true to some extent, 
but that is no fault of the law ; ' and again, ' In some large cities there 
is some difficulty in enforcing the Sunday and night law, but in most of 
the smaller cities and in nearly all the villages it is fairly well enforced.' 
Now, I stand here to assert, and I challenge denial, that the tax law is 
violated in every city, every town, and every village in the State ; that 
convictions for violation are the exception and not the rule ; that con- 
victions under the forms of evidence required under the tax law are 
practically impossible ; and what is true in Michigan is true in every 
State where a tax or high license has been tried. The grand jury of 
Chicago, in a recent statement to the court, said : ' Having discovered 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 283 

that a majority of the cases of robbery sent to the grand-jury by the dif- 
ferent police justices of Chicago originated in the low saloons in certain 
districts of the city, the perpetrators of which are licensed to carry on 
their nefarious business and enjoy immunity from police authorities of 
the city of Chicago, a committee of our body was duly appointed to as- 
certain if such charges of irregularities and flagrant dereliction of duty 
on the part of the police officers were true ; the committee reported that 
they were, and that furthermore the ordinance requiring the closing of 
saloons by midnight has by long custom become a dead letter in the 
community, and a partiality seemed to exist in favor of groggeries of the 
very lowest character, and they have been described on the sworn testi- 
mony of policemen before our body, as robbers' dens.' Andrew Pax- 
ton, agent of the Law and Order League of Chicago, speaking of the con- 
dition of things under high license, says : ■ Some of the low dens are of 
the most infamous character and are a menace to the city. They are 
filled with thieves and debased women. The chances are that any man 
who enters them will be drugged and robbed. One of these places was 
raided one night, and eighteen women of the basest sort were found 
there. Some were drunk and nearly all partially so. Two weeks later 
another raid was made, and about the same number was found. Our 
own agents went there, and were solicited by the women to go with them 
to their rooms. One night a young man came with a considerable sum 
of money. He became drunk and was followed out by the bartender 
and robbed. In our protest against the renewal of the man's license, 
we set forth these facts, and the evidence sustained them, yet the 
license was renewed in this infamous place, frequented by the worst 
characters. Young girls in short dresses are kept to lure in young men. 
From some of these dens women are sent out to intercept working girls 
on their way home, and try to induce them to accompany them. Their 
purpose and the deplorable results need no explanation.' 

" The effect of high license is to fortify the immoral features of the 
liquor business, to destroy the semi-respectable part of the trade, and to 



284 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 

develop its worst tendencies. In Nebraska, under low license, numbers 
of Germans kept grocery stores, and sold lager-beer in connection with 
that business. No gamblers, no prostitutes frequented these places. 
The effect of high license was to close these places because they did not 
sell enough liquor to pay the tax ; but not so with the place where bad 
women were kept to tempt men, or the place where gambling was carried 
on ; not a place where men were held up and robbed was closed by in- 
creasing the tax. ' The little corner grocery stores cannot carry these 
burdens, and therefore they disappear,' urges Mr. Duffield ; but I say 
to him, the dive, the concert garden, the gambling hell, can carry these 
burdens, and therefore they remain. Mr. Duffield prints, speaking of 
the license law of Illinois : ' There the tax law went into operation,' 
(notice that he calls a high-license law a tax law) ' in 1883 only, and what 
has it done there ? It closed, in one year, 1000 saloons in Chicago alone, 
and blotted out 4000 in the State.' I must call your attention to the 
fact that he dodges the whole and the real question — viz. : ' Does tax 
decrease the evils of intemperance ? ' What does it matter whether 
there are sixteen or fourteen saloons on a block ? Cannot the people get 
as drunk in fourteen as in sixteen ? But, as he sees fit to avoid the real 
question, we must follow him into his chosen field and ask what are 
facts. A leading lawyer of Illinois, the Hon. George C. Christian, sends 
me the following statement : ' My grocer told me that he had just quit 
selling beer to families. I asked him when ; he replied, " "When high 
license went into effect." " Why ?" " Because I didn't sell $500 worth 
in a year, and therefore I couldn't afford to pay the tax and make money." 
I asked, " Is this general ?" "Yes," said he; "there are 3000 family 
groceries in Chicago. One half or more sold beer to families before 
high license. Now not over 100 take out license." The number of 
saloon licenses the year before high license was 3820 ; number of 
saloons licensed now, 3760— an apparent decrease of 60 ; total old 
saloons licensed, 3820 ; less family groceries, say 1000, equal 2820. Pres- 
ent number of saloon licenses and only 100 family groceries selling, 



TEE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 285 

3760. Total increase in saloons, 940. ' This shows the supx>ression of 
the class of liquor-sellers who handle liquor with other commodities, 
and an increase in the grog-shops proper. Mr. Duffield came within 9-40 
of getting the correct figures, which is wonderfully accurate, considering 
the side of the question that he is discussing. In regard to the closing 
of saloons in other parts of Illinois, the State is working under local 
option, and the decrease in the saloons is owing to prohibition, not tax- 
ation. I challenge Mr. Duffield to show a single town in Illinois where 
the saloons have been driven out by tax, -while it is easy to show num- 
bers of towns where the high tax acted as a bribe, and broke down local 
option. Again he speaks of the working of tax in Ohio. Under tax in 
Ohio the Christian Sunday has been destroyed in all large cities, and it 
is as legal to sell liquor on Sunday as on Monday. Concert gardens and 
saloon dives make the day hideous, and interrupt persons on their 
way to and from places of worship. Desiring to get at the facts, I 
telegraphed Dr. Bayliss, editor of the Western Christian Advocate, and 
asked him how tax was working in Cincinnati. I received the follow- 
ing answer : 

" ' Cincinnati, March 23. 

" 'Dr. Bayliss away. I have seen Methodist preachers in the city. 
Unanimously for constitutional prohibition. Tax law unworkable and 
unsatisfactory. 

" ' (Signed), H. W. William, Asst.' 

" How does this agree with Mr. Duffield' s statement : ' Everybody in 
Ohio is satisfied with the tax law ' ? 

" You will notice that the witnesses cited by Mr. Duffield himself 
make the prohibitory feature of the law the only one which can be de- 
fended. Judge Foraker says : ' Practical prohibition has been secured 
under the local-option feature of the Dow law in at least one hundred 
and fifty municipal corporations in the State. ' His other witnesses say 
the local-option feature pleases the Prohibitionists. Nearly every day 



286 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

adds to the municipalities availing themselves of the local prohibition 
feature of the tax law. Notice this is not the result of taxation, but the 
result of prohibition by people who utterly repudiate the principle of 
taxation. 

" In Nebraska the Hon. H. W. Hardy, ex-Mayor of Lincoln, the father 
of the high license law, says : * High license utterly fails to abolish the 
evil effects of the liquor traffic. As a temperance measure, it is an entire 
and complete failure.' 

" Eev. J. B. Maxfield, Presiding Elder of the Methodist Church, says : 
1 Men who pay the $1000 license resort to every possible means to secure 
trade. The result is that prostitution and gambling have largely in- 
creased in the State. ' Mr. Duffield, in his defence of the indefensible 
tax system, gives special prominence to the prohibitory features of the 
law, and admits that the taxing principle is an impure and an unsound 
position. He says : ' Take a township or a village, for instance, where 
there is a pure and sound sentiment on the subject of temperance and 
the liquor traffic, and the trustees meet, or the board, and say, ' We do not 
want any saloon in our town or village. Now let us fix the amount of 
the bond required from any and every man who wishes to sell at $6000 
and no less. This can be done under the law.' Now, if a pure and a 
sound sentiment will lead men to adopt prohibition by the roundabout 
way of refusing the bonds offered by the liquor-sellers, then the senti- 
ment that advocates tax and opposes prohibition is impure and unsound. 
' Pure and sound sentiment on the subject of temperance ; I thank thee, 
Duffield, for the word. In speaking of the tax law, he says ' that it is 
illegal to sell liquor where billiards and other games are played ; it is 
illegal to sell in any hall adjacent to a variety show or theatre ; it is illegal 
to keep open bars or places for the sale of liquor on the Sabbath day, 
election days, regular holidays, and all such places must be closed after 
10 or 11 o'clock at night until 7 a.m. ; that no child under sixteen years 
of age shall be permitted to remain in any bar-room, nor shall any 
saloon-keeper give an entertainment on Sunday in his place.' All these 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 287 

features are prohibitory features, and not taxation features. If it were 
not for the prohibitory salt distributed through the tax law of Michigan, 
it would stink in the nostrils o£ decent people. To defend the prin- 
ciple of taxation, he cited the opinions of eminent men in the East. 
When I read his speech, I regretted that a bad cause compelled him to 
adopt questionable methods to uphold it. To place leading men in false 
positions is neither fair nor honorable. To cite Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler 
as opposed to constitutional prohibition after Dr. Cuyler had written 
him a letter urging him not to make the speech, deserves a more severe 
reprimand than I care to give on this platform. As he had called these 
witnesses, and unfairly used the influence of their great names, I, know- 
ing he had done so, telgeraphed them the facts, and now want to read 
Duflield's witnesses against Duffield, and want you to bear in mind they 
are his witnesses, and he must accept what they say ; that he cannot 
impeach them 

" ' New Yoee, March 24. 
" ' I am not opposed to constitutional prohibition, but sincerely hope 
the people of Michigan will adopt it. 

" ' (Signed), Noah Davis, 

rt ' Ex- Judge of Supreme Court' 

" ' New Yoee, March 23. 

" ' No man has a right to quote me on the question. I simply stood 
for high license in the State of New York as the most prohibitory meas- 
ure that could be passed at the present time. 

" ' William Lloyd, 
" ' Of the Central Congregational Church. 1 

" ' New Oeleans, La., March 23. 
" ' I am now, and have been since the movement started, in favor of 
constitutional prohibition. 

" ' Theodoee L. Cutler.* 



288 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" Under the present law of Michigan there were, in 1885, 4180 liqtior 
manufacturers and dealers. Will any man claim that there is any diffi- 
culty in obtaining liquor, or that drunkenness and crime and vice are 
not the result of these taxed saloons ? The case summed up against tax- 
ation is this : 

"1. Taxation creates property rights in liquor, gives a liquor-dealer 
a legal standing in the community, and renders the enforcement 
of the law practically impossible. If Mr. Duffield doubts this, let 
me suggest that he commence to-morrow to try and enforce the tax 
law in this city. When the liquor-dealers sell liquor to minors, let 
him enter a complaint. When they sell liquor on Sunday, enter a com- 
plaint. When they sell liquor on holidays, enter a complaint. If, at 
the end of six months, he is not a Prohibitionist, I will buy him the best 
suit of clothes he ever wore in his life. Is it not a fact that under the 
tax system of this State the business men are terrorized and intimidated 
so that they do not dare to make complaints, but ask the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, the temperance organizations, or some 
irresponsible parties who have no property to be injured by the liquor- 
sellers, to undertake the enforcement of this law ? 

" 2. It reduces the number of groceries that sell liquor incidentally ; it 
increases saloons that sell nothing else. 

" 3. It permits a business in cities and towns that makes drunkards, 
paupers, and criminals. 

" 4. The tax paid by the business goes into the city and town treasuries. 
The taxes to support the criminals and the paupers made by the busi- 
ness comes from the entire State, thereby laying on the shoulders of 
those who receive no part of the revenue of the liquor traffic, the burdens 
of the liquor traffic itself. 

"5. It leads to the desecration of the Christian Sabbath, to the debauch- 
ery of workingmen, and the degradation of workingmen's homes. 

"6. It is everywhere violated, and little or no attempt is made to en- 
force it. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 289 

" 7. The prohibition obtained under it can only be procured by false 
methods and in circuitous ways, which makes it Valueless when obtained. 

" 8. It creates a class of drunkard-makers who live by working to in- 
crease the sale, and consequently the consumption of liquor. 

" 9. It is a failure as a temperance measure. 

" Mr. Duffield is the father of the tax law. The tax law is openly and 
impudently violated in Detroit. Mr. Duffield is a lawyer and a man of 
wealth and standing in the community. Why does he not make his law 
work ? It will not do for him to ask Prohibitionists to enforce a law in 
which they do not believe, and yet his sneer that ' no Prohibitionist 
ever attempted to enforce the law, ' is utterly unfounded. In fact, it 
seems to me that a man of his experience and knowledge of the affairs 
of this State must have known it to be untrue. It is the Prohibitionists 
who have tried to enforce the tax law, and thereby demonstrated its utter 
worthlessness as a regulative measure. The members of the law and 
order leagues of this State are largely Prohibitionists. Prohibitionists 
have furnished the money and done the work to attempt the enforce- 
ment of this law, while Mr. Duffield and men who, like him, advocate 
the tax law everywhere, do nothing to make the law operative, and justify 
their indifference and idleness by sneering at Prohibitionists, and insist- 
ing that they shall enforce the tax law. I challenge Mr. Duffield to show 
that the tax law of Michigan has decreased the crime, pauperism, and 
vice resulting from the use of intoxicating liquors, or made it more diffi- 
cult for the drunkard to obtain liquor. I challenge Mr. Duffield to 
prove the tax system is workable by trying to enforce it. I say the law 
is so bad that it cannot be worked by the constitutional machinery of 
Government, and challenge Mr. Duffield to prove my statement false by 
enforcement in Detroit. 

" The question is now, Will the prohibitory law work better ? I repeat 
my statement that it will not take one half the force to enforce prohibi- 
tion that it does to fail to enforce license. 
" The trial of prohibition in this State was made during the terrible 



290 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

period of our civil war. The whole attention of the nation was absorbed 
in the issues of that great struggle. Churches languished, schools grew 
weak, but the liquor business nourished. With the close of the war 
there came a reaction, and with the reaction an attempt to enforce the 
law. The last year that the law was on the statute-book of this State, 
the grog-shops decreased 2862. Yet Mr. Duffield presumed upon the 
ignorance of his audience, and asked : ' Did you ever hear, Mr. Sheley, 
of a prohibition law that wiped out ten saloons ? ' 

" Mr. Sheley — ' No, never.' 

" And then in the next breath he claims that the tax law has largely 
reduced the number of saloons, quoting figures one year from the United 
States internal revenue reports and the next year from the State reports, 
but neglecting to state whether there were any saloons in that year that 
continued selling without paying the tax, and also neglecting to explain 
that a Ked Ribbon movement which swept through the country, and the 
consequent temperance sentiment created by that movement, was the 
real cause of the reduction, or the seeming reduction, of the saloons in 
Michigan, instead of the tax law. When this pressure was brought to 
bear upon the liquor-dealers, a brewers' congress, held in Detroit 
August 12th, 1874, demanded the repeal of the law. If the law had in- 
jured them sooner, a demand would have sooner been made for its 
repeal. It was not until the law was becoming effective that the liquor- 
sellers demanded at the hands of the politicians of this State that the 
law be strangled. The conditions to-day are entirely different. The 
temperance forces are thoroughly organized. Total abstinence is taught 
in the schools. The churches are thoroughly awake on the question. 
The politicians are aware that they can no longer slight it, and prohibi- 
tion, if adopted in this State, will be enforced. I am surprised and 
astonished to see the statements made by Mr. Duffield against prohibi- 
tion in other States. When I read the speech I knew that the state- 
ments, or rather the inferences from the statements, were not true. So 
I telegraphed gentlemen of undoubted integrity that he had seen fit to 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 291 

drag into the controversy in the States referred to, and asked for the 
facts in the case. The witnesses I shall call are honored in the States 
where they live. I regret that in discussing this question I am com- 
pelled to meet Mr. Duffield in two ways — first, Mr. Duffield as printed ; 
second, Mr. Duffield as spoken — and that he deemed it necessary to 
make one speech for the people of Detroit, and one for the farmers of 
the country. In his attack upon prohibition he bases his whole charge 
upon the statement of the Internal Revenue Commissioner of the United 
States. Mr. DufSeld is a lawyer, and knows that the tax permit issued 
by the general Government to the saloon is identical with the tax permit 
issued to the drug-store, or any place that retails alcoholic spirits. He 
also knows that in a State under tax the man who obtains the permit 
holds the permit for an entire year — that is, a man under prohibition 
who wants to violate the State law pays the United States tax to prevent 
an interference of that Government, so that he shall only have one 
power to fight. That if a man is arrested and imprisoned, the permit 
appears in the records of the United States ; so that in one town in 
Kansas where twenty-one permits were granted, nineteen of the liquor- 
sellers were in the jail, and the other two skipped the country, and the town 
did not have an open grog-shop during the year. Mr. Duffield is either 
very ignorant or else he knows that the tax permit of the United States 
is absolutely no evidence, that it does not show that a single liquor-shop 
is open, or that the State law is violated ; that it simply shows the in- 
tent of the party in paying twenty-five dollars to violate the State law if 
he can. In exposing the fallacy of his position, I desire, in all cases 
where possible, to criticise the printed speech, and only refer to the 
speech that he really made in order to get an explanation of his views. 

" Mr. Duffield printed : ' Let us, for instance, take the State of Rhode 
Island. There the prohibition law has been in operation now for six 
months, and carries with it very stringent provisions for its enforce- 
ment. What record has it already made for itself? The records in 
Providence County show that of the whole number of cases tried for the 



292 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

last six months there were but three convictions. In the September term 
there were 106 liquor cases on the appeal docket, and in the December 
docket 116, and of the whole number there were but four verdicts of 
"guilty" rendered ; the rest of the cases were variously disposed of by 
discontinuances on payment of cost, discontinuances on conditions and 
disagreements of juries. The same state of things is being enacted there 
that prevailed under our prohibition laws of twenty years ago. The 
result is that already the best men in the State are deluging the General 
Assembly with petitions for the law's repeal, many signers being those 
who voted for the prohibition law. One petition represented men of 
property to the amount of $3,000,000 ; another, of $12,000,000, and the 
Legislature is now pondering on what is its duty in the premises. At a 
recent meeting of the Law and Order Society in Providence, President 
Kobinson, of Brown University, admitted that " the frequency of intoxi- 
cation upon the streets, notwithstanding the prohibition law, was a scan- 
dal and outrage upon decency." ' Mr. Duffield gives no authority for 
his statements, nor does he tell where he got his figures. 

" To find out whether this statement in regard to a resubmission of 
the question was true or false, I telegraphed Hon. E. A. "Wilson, Speaker 
of the House, and received this answer : 

" * Peovidence, R. I., March 23. 
" 'Proposition to submit repeal of prohibitory amendment indefinitely 
postponed without debate, unanimously. The liquor nuisance will be 
served with equal unanimity. Prohibition will prohibit in this State. 

" 'E. A. Wilson.' 

" To meet another statement, I telegraphed Professor Robinson, who 
answered : 

" « Peovidence, R. I., March 23, 1887. 

" * Constitutional prohibition is good. Political intrigue attempts to 

thwart reform in Providence. 

" * W. H. Eobinson/ 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 293 

" Desiring to give the people of Michigan the real facts in the case, I 

telegraphed the Eev. H. W. Conant and to C. E. Brayton, Chief of State 

Police. They replied as follows : 

" ' Providence, E. I., March 23. 

" ' Increase of arrests for drunkenness and revelry in Providence last 
six months' license, over 18 per cent. Decrease in first six months' pro- 
hibition, over 42 per cent. Common drunkenness in same time de- 
creased in Newport 100 per cent ; Pawtucket, 50 per cent ; last two 

months, 75 per cent. Official figures. 

<"H. W. Conant.' 

" ' Providence, E. I., March 24. 
" ' The statistics from the city of Providence, the largest city in the 
State, show an increase of drunkenness during the last six months of the 
license law of 18.3 per cent, while during the first six months of pro- 
hibition, as compared with the corresx3onding period under license, 
drunkenness decreased more than 42 per cent. The commitments to 
the State Workhouse, whose inmates are largely victims of the intemper- 
ate use of intoxicating liquors, for the first six months under prohibition, 
as compared with the corresponding period under license, show a falling 
off of more than one half, resulting in the large saving to the State 
of more than $18,000 per annum in the item of board alone. The 
" growler," or tin-kettle trade, has almost entirely disappeared from the 
streets, and children are not now seen frequenting liquor-saloons for 
supplies of liquor, as before prohibition went into effect. Many a family 
that never saw a penny of the weekly earnings of its head, now receives 
the full benefit of his labor. The Legislature, now in session, has just 
indefinitely postponed, by an almost unanimous vote, a proposition to 
submit the repeal of the prohibition amendment to the people, and will 
at this session make the prohibition law more effective. 

" ' C. E. Brayton.' 

" Mr. Duffield says in regard to Kansas : ' Take the State of Kansas. 
Under free traffic ' (you see that he admits that traffic under license or 



294 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

tax, is free traffic), ' before the prohibition law of last year was enacted, 
there were 2339 liquor-dealers. In 1886 under prohibition there were 
1850.' You will notice he fails to say how he knows there are any liquor- 
dealers in Kansas. Against his empty assertion I want to put Governor 
John A. Martin, who recently said : ' The liquor sold in the city of 
Topeka amounted under license to two thirds as much as is sold for all 
purposes in the whole State under prohibition. ' He estimates that under 
license the State sold $60,000,000 per year, and under prohibition less 
than $5,000,000. 

" Mr. Duffield prints : ' In Vermont, with thirty years of prohibition, 
the United States revenue shows 446 open saloons.' I know it shows no 
such thing. Mr. Duffield presumed upon the ignorance of his audience 
when he insinuated that any men could determine from the United 
States revenue whether the tax permit was issued to an open saloon, ' a 
hole in the wall, or a drug-store.' Yet Mr. Duffield said, but did not 
print, ' while this is the number of saloons, it does not reckon in hotels, 
club-houses, or private drinking-places.' I submit this is either reckless 
asstruon or impudent pettifoggery. Dare Mr. Duffield claim that the 
United States Government allows hotels and club-houses and private 
drinking-places to be carried on in Vermont, without the necessary 
permit ? 

' ' To prove the falsity of his statement, I telegraphed the Hon. Frank 

Plumley, one of the most brilliant Republican leaders of the State of 

Vermont. He was chairman of the last Republican State convention, 

and has been in the Republican campaigns of this State several times. 

He answered : 

" ' Northfiei/d, Vt., March 23. 

" ' Your denial of open saloons in Vermont, to my knowledge is abso- 
lutely correct. 

" ' FEANK PliUMLEY.' 

Mr. Duffield prints : ' In the State of Iowa, before the prohibition 
law, there were 3834 dealers ; under prohibition in 1886 there were 4033, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 295 

and the manufacture of 5,894,544 gallons.' Mr. Dufneld seems to be 
ignorant of the fact that in the State of Iowa they have had prohibition 
of the sale of distilled liquors since 1853 ; that a recent prohibitory stat- 
ute simply added to the prohibitory law the prohibition of vinous and 
fermented liquors. 

" To show the absolute working of prohibition in Iowa I telegraphed 
Hon. E. E. Hutchins, Commissioner of Labor Statistics. Mr. Hutchins 
answered : 

" ' Des Moines, Ia., March 23. 

" • Governor and Attorney-General both say prohibition has constantly 
improved the moral, financial, and social condition of Iowa, and is suc- 
cessfully enforced in eighty-five of the ninety-nine counties ; also grow- 
ing rapidly in favor in the remainder. 

" ' E. R. HUTCHTNS.' 

" I will not quote his statement in regard to Maine. It is the old one, 
and has been so often answered that there is no need of replying to it 
in detail. But I would call the attention of the audience to the fact that 
in quoting the Maine Farmer Mr. Duffield fails to tell where the paper is 
printed or to give the date or number of the issue containing the state- 
ment. But if he makes another speech he should be honest enough to 
say that the Maine Farmer is and always has been a consistent advocate 
of prohibition. His own showing of figures in regard to Maine proves 
that the prohibitory law more nearly suppresses liquor-selling and 
drunkenness in that State than does the tax law in Michigan. However, 
to corroborate the statement of James G. Blaine, William P. Frye, Eugene 
Hale, and all other public men of Maine, I telegraphed Joseph E. Bid- 
well, the Governor. He answered : 

" 4 Augusta, Me., March 23. 

" * The finances of the State never more prosperous. Drink habit is 

fatal to prosperity in any community. Prohibition promotes morality 

everywhere. Nearly all crimes can be traced to rum either directly or 

indirectly. The law is well enforced in the country towns. In some of 



296 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 

the cities it is not quite so effective. The new law will aid the enforce- 
ment there. 

" ' Joseph E. Bidwell.' 

" Hon. Nelson Dingley, Congressman, and editor of the Lewiston 
Daily Journal, writes me : 

'' ' Lewiston, Me., March 23, 1887. 
" ' The prohibitory law is well enforced, and is a blessing to the State. 

" ' Nelson Dingley.' 

" Mr. Duffield makes a great point by citing Rev. A. L. Ladd, of 
Bangor, Me., as opposed to prohibition. Mr. Ladd telegraphs me : 

" ' Bangor, Me., March 24, 1887. 
"'Prohibition is a success throughout the State. The amendments 
to the law, recently passed, will make it still more effective in cities. 

u ' A. L. Ladd.' 

" In 1884, after the prohibition law of Maine had been on trial for 
thirty years, the people, by a majority of 47,000, placed it in the State 
Constitution. Few men in this country will presume to claim that the 
people of Maine are either fools or idiots, and yet to charge that they 
made prohibition a part of their organic law when it increased pauperism 
and crime and vice, is to challenge their judgment and intelligence, be- 
cause prohibition with them was not an experiment. They had lived 
under it and seen its workings for thirty years. 

" Mr. Duffield prints, in speaking of the State of Georgia : ' Take the 
State of Georgia, where it is claimed that prohibition and local option 
have been at work, and we find that, according to the Internal Revenue 
Office of the United States, there are to-day more distilleries in the State 
than ever before, and they are rapidly increasing. The increase is not 
alone in the number of stills, but in their capacity — old ones having in- 
creased from five bushels to fifty.' As a public man Mr. Duffield must 
know that immediately following the war Northern Georgia, Eastern 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 297 

Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and South Carolina were filled 
with moonshine distilleries. All attempts to enforce the internal 
revenue laws resulted in unblushing crime. But as time has passed on, 
the enforcement of the law has become more uniform, and the so-called 
report of increase in distilleries is simply a statement that the law is 
better enforced, and that the distilleries of the South are becoming more 
law-abiding. Desiring to call reliable witnesses, I telegraphed the busi- 
ness men of Atlanta. The answers were as follows : 

" ' Atlanta, Ga., March 23. 

" ' Georgia, 115 of 137 counties absolute prohibition. With imperfect 

system of assessment, taxable valuation constantly increasing. State in 

a very prosperous condition. 

" ' W. E. Wbight, 

" ' Comptroller of Slate.' 

" * General merchants from all parts of the State report business 
good.' — J. T.Henderson, Commissioner of Agriculture. 

" ' Atlanta, compared with same dates last year, increased population, 
5000 ; most moral city in the world. Prohibition does prohibit.' — 
Howard Van Epps, Judge City Court. 

" ' Business increased $50,000 last two months.' — Kizer& Co., wholesale 
dry-goods. 

" ' Business never so good.' — E. P. Chamberlain, dry -goods. 

11 ' Never saw anything like it.' — Q. T. Dood & Co., wholesale grocers. 

" ' Will transfer $200,000 of real estate this week ; on eve of biggest 
kind of boom ; workingmen buying homes.' — 8. W. Goode, real estate. 

"•' Sales of school-books increased 100 per cent.' — J. M. Miller, book- 
store. 

" ' It is doubtful if Atlanta has ever been the scene of such a religious 
movement as at present.' — Daily Constitution, March 23, 1887. 

" Indorsed by Eev. J. B. Hawthorne and every minister of the city. 

" ' Every business but undertakers' doing well.' — J. B. Thromer, con- 
tractor. 



298 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" I might close my case in favor of prohibition by this statement : 
Under prohibition in 1882, Maine paid taxes upon spirituous liquors 
amounting to $25,247.05. On fermented liquors, $2,993.34. Michigan, 
under tax, the same year, paid on spirituous liquors, $129,405.02. On 
fermented liquors, $323,137.02 ; total, $452,542.04. The effects of pro- 
hibition in restraining immorality, vice, and crime, are such that the 
prohibitory law of Maine is indorsed by every public man, by every 
teacher in their colleges, by every minister in their pulpits, while the 
effect of the tax law in Michigan is such that it is antagonized by the 
churches, the ministers, the teachers, the women, and most of the farm- 
ers of this State. The contrast between prohibition and" license is ably 
drawn by Dr. C. L. Randall, of your own State, whose statements I have 
not seen contradicted : ' That during the last two years the prohibitory 
law was on our statute-books there was a reduction of 2862 places where 
liquor was sold, and $39,142.25 in United States revenue and 11,393 
barrels of beer, and we had but one State prison at Jackson with 703 
inmates. How was it ten years from that day ? After ten years of tax- 
ation, or legalized rum, we find more than one prison, as follows : State 
prison at Jackson with 670 inmates ; State Reformatory, Iona, 611 in- 
mates ; Detroit House of Correction, 314 inmates ; total, 1595. Draw 
the contrast. Prohibition twenty years, with a terrible war, 703 crimi- 
nals. Taxation one year, with peace and plenty, 1595 ; although our pop- 
ulation has increased but 22 per cent, our criminal population increased 
about 120 per cent. ' 

" Then I urge in favor of prohibition : 

" 1. That it destroys property rights in liquor obtained after the law 
is passed, and makes possession prima facie evidence. It destroys all 
legal sales for beverage purposes, and so removes all legal protection 
from the drunkard-maker. Proof is simplified and prosecution aided. 

"2. That it makes liquor-selling a crime. 

" 3. That it forces the liquor-dealer into business and trades which 
develop the prosperity and general morality of the public. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 299 

" 4. That it turns the earnings of the laboring man from the grog-shop 
to the store, and from the bar-room to the school. 

" 5. That wherever tried it has reduced liquor-selling, and the effects 
resulting from liquor-selling. 

" 6. It destroys the open, popular saloon and the social habits of 
treating which drag young men to lives of debauchery and crime. 

" If prohibition be adopted on the 4th of April, and it will be if an 
honest ballot and fair count is guaranteed, the question raised by Pro- 
fessor Kent when he stated, ' In my judgment, this amendment, if passed 
by a majority, will be utterly ineffectual,' and gave as a reason that it 
interfered with the property rights of the liquor-dealers, is entitled to 
consideration. The question is simply, Will the State be compelled to 
compensate the manufacturers and dealers in liquor for the injury which 
may result to breweries, distilleries, saloons, and stock on hand, from 
the prohibition of the beverage sale of alcoholic liquors? Professor 
Kent, with the greatest solemnity and with due judicial deliberation, 
says : ' In my judgment, if the amendment is adopted, it will be held 
void so far as it undertakes to forfeit the rights of individuals in the 
liquor which they now have.' Professor Kent should know that the 
prohibitory law does not contemplate the forfeiture of the rights of indi- 
viduals in the liquor which they now have. It simply says to those in- 
dividuals, 'You shall not sell those liquors to injure public morals, 
public intelligence, and public prosperity.' The attack upon the liquor 
business is the result of the wrongs of that business. But for its own 
wrongs there would never have been a prohibitory amendment. The 
prohibitory law is a police regulation made necessary by the wrongs of 
the liquor business itself. The law on this question simply is : ' The 
trade in alcoholic drinks being lawful, capital employed being duly pro- 
tected by law, the Legislature then steps in, and by an enactment based on gen- 
eral reasons of public utility annihilates the traffic, destroys altogether the em- 
ployment, and reduces to a nominal value the property on hand. Even the 
keeping of it for the purpose of sale becomes a criminal offence, and without 



300 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

any change, whatever in his own conduct and employment, the merchant of yes. 
terday becomes the criminal of to-day, and the very building in which he lives 
and conducts the business, which before the amendment was lawful, becomes a 
subject of legal proceedings and liable to be proceeded against for forfeiture. A 
statute which can do this must be justified upon the highest reasons of public 
benefit ; but whether satisfactory or not, the reasons address themselves exclu- 
sively to legislative wisdom. ' 

" Government compensates for private property taken for public use. 
Government never compensates for prohibiting the wrongful or injuri- 
ous use of private property. If the liquor business had produced the 
same results as the dry-goods business, there would have been no at- 
tempt to prohibit it. The prohibition is the result of the effects of the 
business. It has made its own suppression necessary, and cannot plead 
its own wrongs in any court of equity. The professor concedes the 
weakness of his position when he says in the first part of his speech : 
* I do not advocate the right of any man to keep a saloon.' The tax 
assessed against a saloon-keeper is for one year, the bond is for one 
year, and when the saloon-keeper enters a business, pays his tax, and 
gives his bond, he knows that at the expiration of the year all privileges 
and all rights under that tax and that bond expire, and no mandamus 
will lie to compel the officers of the village or city to renew the priv- 
ilege. I rent a farm for a year ; the man who rents stocks the farm. 
At the end of a year I refuse to renew the lease. It would be a very 
poor lawyer who would claim that the man could recover from me the 
value of the stock upon the farm, because I had refused to renew the 
lease. The liquor-seller knows that his privilege is annual ; with the 
expiration of the privilege he takes the risk of renewal. Professor Kent 
would certainly not claim that if the tax law drove out of the business 
in a certain town twenty saloon-keepers and left ten in the business, 
that the twenty who were driven out could recover compensation for 
their liquors, business, and fixtures. One argument made by both Mr. 
Duffield and Professor Kent in favor of taxation is that it reduces the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 301 

number of saloons. No man will claim that if taxation drove half of the 
liquor-sellers out of the business they could recover against the city for 
damage done. Now, if the one half driven out could not recover com- 
pensation, where is the argument that would give the other half com- 
pensation when they were driven out of the business for doing exactly the 
same thing that the others had done ? The fact is, that the liquor-sellers 
of this country, sitting in their idleness, have grown rich off the ruin of 
the homes of the country, and if they are in favor of equitable compen- 
sation, the people will have no reason to fear the settlement. If they 
will return to the tax-payers of the State the money that the tax-payers 
have been compelled to pay to take care of the products of their busi- 
ness ; if they will return to the families of the State the money that 
has been squandered by husband, by father, and by son, the State can 
afford to pay for every distillery, every brewery, every saloon, and all 
the fixtures and liquors in those establishments. 

" But, really, the worst feature of this whole canvass is, that this 
business, realizing that it has no legitimate defence, is stooping to 
methods which threaten the social, the industrial, and the commercial 
prosperity of this country. The temperance men have simply asked an 
intelligent examination and discussion of the question. They have been 
met by boycotting, bulldozing, and outrage. The safety of our institu- 
tions depends upon the right of the people to assemble and discuss all 
matters of public policy, and anything that prevents such assemblage 
and such discussion is an enemy of our liberties and our free institu- 
tions. The proposition to boycott business men for their honest opin- 
ion, the attempts to burn churches, the threats to take human life, 
should prejudice everybody against a business that has no other de- 
fence. In Holly the other night the people were assembled in the Meth- 
odist church to listen to a prohibition speech. The liquor-sellers, to 
break up the meeting, fired the building, and to say that I was aston- 
ished hardly expresses my feelings as I read the statement made by 
Professor Kent when he said, speaking of this outrage : ' Again, gentle- 



302 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

men, when men feel that way, if you consider them altogether, how are 
you going to enforce the law ? I know of no way. And what are the 
means they are likely to use in withstanding any attempt to enforce 
it? I will tell you what means they will use. They will begin with 
legal means probably. They will prevent juries from convicting, they 
will undertake to overthrow the law and probably they will succeed. If 
they do not succeed in that, then they will use what means God and 
nature has placed in their hands to defend what they regard as their 
most sacred rights.' 

" I ask now, ladies and gentlemen, if a more outrageous and more 
dangerous sentiment ever fell from the lips of a public man. He says : 
' I am the last one to excuse or defend the attempt to burn the Meth- 
odist churches. ' But does he repudiate it ? Read : ' And can we, whose 
fathers secured their liberty in ways not unlike these — can we say that if 
our rights, which we thought were sacred, were assailed in that way, we 
should do otherwise ? I fear not.' Such language says to every liquor- 
seller outlaw in the country : * If I were in your place and my business 
were attacked, I would burn churches, destroy property, or use any 
means that God and nature had given me to defend myself.' There is 
no excuse for the use of these words. This discussion is the discussion 
of a matter of governmental policy. The people are intelligent. This is 
a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and to 
attempt in any way to extenuate the burning of buildings, the boycot- 
ting of business men, the taking of human life, is to open the doors for 
murder and anarchy in this country. Some enemy of Ireland certainly 
must have been whispering in the ears of Professor Kent, or he would 
have made no attempt to compare the ragged, homeless outcast of Glen- 
beigh with the bloated liquor-sellers of this State. Look : A woman is 
driven from the home of her fathers in rags and misery to starve beside 
the street. Look again : A man is sitting in the doors of a saloon in 
entire idleness, growing rich off the homes, the misery, the suffering 
and agony of the women and children. Then compare the Irish mother, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 303 

shivering in the storm, trembling in the blast, with the drunkard-maker 
of Detroit. To insinuate that our forefathers secured their liberty by 
boycotting, by attempting to fire churches filled with women and chil- 
dren, is to insult the noblest dead of the nation. Later, in his endeavor 
to extenuate the use of this language, Professor Kent says in the Free 
Press : ' The meeting to which my remarks were addressed was com- 
posed almost wholly of our most conservative and law-abiding citizens. 
There was no danger of exciting them to mob law.' But Professor Kent 
is a public man, the speech was made in a public place, it was printed 
in the public press, and he had no right to make a speech before that 
audience that he could not have made before any audience in this coun- 
try. ' There was no danger of exciting them to mob law ; ' but suppose 
that building had been full of the liquor-sellers and their tools in this 
city, would it have excited them to mob law ? Does not every infer- 
ence of the statement justify the use of force, of bloodshed, and of mur- 
der to defend the nefarious traffic ? 

4 ' I want to say, calmly and deliberately, that this is a free country ; 
our forefathers fought and died at Bunker Hill, at Brandywine, at York- 
town, and starved at Valley Forge to build on this continent a republic. 
For a hundred years this country has prospered. 

'.* The broadest discussion of all questions has been allowed. The will 
of the majority has been the controlling power, and now, at the close of 
the first century of our history, it sounds strange to hear men born in 
other countries, who have fled to this country to escape despotisms, say 
to American business men : ' You shall not think, you shall not act, 
you shall not follow your own conscientious convictions upon matters 
of public policy ; if you lay your finger upon a public evil, we will boy- 
cott your business ; if you endeavor to destroy a public nuisance, we 
will burn your property ; if you endeavor to enforce the law against 
law-breakers, we will murder you. ' Ladies and gentlemen, if there is 
any man in this country who is dissatisfied with American institutions, 
with American ideas, with the American methods of procedure in public 



304 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

matters, it will not cost him any more to buy a ticket from New York to 
go to the country from which he came, than it did to buy a ticket from 
that country to this. America is a free country. The freedom of action, 
the freedom of speech must be upheld, and all attempts at mob vio- 
lence, all attempts at anarchy, all attempts at outlawry, must be sup- 
pressed by the hand of law, and that law upheld and sustained by the 
people. The idea of a teacher of young men in a public institution like 
Ann Arbor justifying, even by implication, the burning of a Methodist 
church, where men and women were assembled to listen to the discus- 
sion of a public question, shows the dangerous and alarming tendencies 
of our times. The saloon is the hot-bed of anarchy, the hot-bed of law- 
lessness, the hot-bed of mob rule, the hot bed of murder, and those in 
favor of good order, those in favor of the enforcement of law, must 
strike down this enemy of the civilization and liberties of this country. 

1 ' It has been urged by the opponents of the amendment that if the 
amendment be adopted, there is no guarantee that the Legislature will 
enact laws to enforce it. The amendment, if adopted, will be adopted 
by a majority of the voters. If a majority of the voters are in favor, four 
fifths of the women are certainly in favor, and that would give a pre- 
ponderance of sentiment in favor of the enactment. In the State of 
Iowa the amendment, after being adopted, was declared unconstitutional- 
ly adopted by the Supreme Court of the State ; but despite this fact, the 
Legislature of the State enacted a stringent prohibitory law, and at each 
legislative session since, the stringency of the law has been increased. 

" In Kansas and Rhode Island the same results followed the adoption 
of the law, and in Michigan, if a majority of the voters of the State de- 
clare in favor of the amendment, it will not be safe for any political 
party or any politician to defy the will of the people in this matter. 
This is a government of the people, and a majority of the people must 
rule. Let politicians defy the will of the people and the political under- 
taker will not complain for want of business. 

" In conclusion, let me urge that the grog-shop is the primary school 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 305 

of crime, pauperism, and vice. This is admitted. License and tax have 
been tried in this country and in Europe for hundreds of years, and 
have failed to diminish the evils resulting from the public bar-room. 
The only features urged in the defence of license and tax regulation 
are the prohibitory features, and if the prohibitory features are the 
only part of the license laws which can be defended, then why not 
reject the license features and make the laws wholly prohibitory ? The 
tax features of the law have failed. Mr. Duffield again and again con- 
cedes this in his speech. Urging its good features, he says : * If we 
should run out into the country, where they claim this temperance senti- 
ment is so strong — although I don't believe there are many of them who 
know anything about it — they would find how it, works ;' thereby con- 
ceding that it does not work in cities, and that the people in the cities 
realize no benefits from the law. 

"Is it not strange that with the law working for years in Detroit, 
the people of Detroit do not realize the beneficial features it is claimed 
to possess ? 

" Again, he says : ' I doubt very much whether any of our people 
here, except those who have given special attention to it, know how 
great the benefit of these provisions in the tax law are, to say nothing 
about what has been done.' But the people here do not know that out 
of over three hundred complaints against liquor- dealers in Detroit last 
year, but twenty-two of them have been tried, and that the rest are 
pigeon-holed or linger in the courts of the city. The trouble with Mr. 
Duffield's argument is that the tax does not work, and that the ordinary 
machinery of Government cannot work it. His constant iteration and 
reiteration that the people ought to ascertain the beneficial features and 
make it work reminds me of the Irish porter who, at the Adams House, 
in Boston, was one night sent by the night clerk to accompany a gentle- 
man to his room. After Pat had deposited the baggage, the gentleman 
said : ' I want to be called at six o'clock in the morning.' The Irish- 
man replied, ' Faith, I go on at twelve and off at twelve. Do you 



306 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 

think I will be sitting up all night to call you ? ' * I don't care whether 
you call me or not, I want to be called.' * Oh, you want I should lave 
word at the office ? ' ' Leave it where you please, only say that I am to 
be called.' ' All right, sir,' and the Irishman left. A few minutes later 
he went back and rapped on the door. The gentleman opened the door, 
and said : { What do you want ? ' * Faith, sir, for fear there might be 
some mistake about calling you, I thought I would come back and tell 
you there is no need of calling a gentleman in this hotel. Do you see 
that little bunch up there with a knob in the middle ' (pointing to the 
electrical bell call) ? ' When you want to be called in the morning just 
turn over, put your thumb on that bunch and push, and the boy will 
come up and call you, sure.' 

" The tax law of this 'State, in the hands of the proper officers of the 
State, has been demonstrated to be unworkable, and the people are left 
to call themselves, and to perform the duties that other men are elected 
to perform and paid for doing. After ten years of failure the people 
propose to repudiate the fraud, and Mr. Duffield hastens forward to say 
in substance that it is the duty of the people to create a Government 
inside the Government, and work the fraud themselves. 

" In closing his speech, Mr. Duffield has seen fit to say that two ban- 
ners have been erected in this campaign— the one, the banner of pro- 
hibition ; the other, the banner of taxation and license— and by this he 
seeks to draw an invidious comparison between the followers of one 
banner and the followers of the other. I am glad he has done this, for 
when he says, ' All bad men are in favor of the amendment,' it justifies 
me in showing what kind of people indorse him and his speech and how 
utterly reckless he is in his statements. I want to challenge his state- 
ment by saying : When, on the 4th of April, the vote on the amendment 
has been counted, one of two camps in this State will rejoice ; and, 
while I do not wish to insinuate that every man who votes against the 
amendment is a bad man, I do want to say that the bad men and the 
bad women in this State are not in favor of the amendment. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 307 

' - Desiring to meet his empty statement with evidence which he could 
not break down, I sent a trusted detective to take a census of the gam- 
bling hells, the saloons, and the houses of ill-fame in Grand Kapids. 

He telegraphs me as follows : 

" * Grand Rapids, March 26. 

" ' Visited professional gamblers ; sixty-four against the amendment. 

Saloon-keepers, twenty-six against the amendment. Houses of ill-fame, 

six against the amendment. None for the amendment.' 

" Another equally trusty officer working in the city of Detroit visited the 
houses of ill-fame in this city to take a canvass of the inmates ; to show 
you their feeling, let me read the interviews, omitting the name of the 
keeper and the name of the street. If anybody doubts the correctness 
of these statements and will come on the platform at the close of the 
meeting, I will give him the name of the keeper and the number and 
name of the street : 

" In the first house visited, the proprietor said : ' Oh, stuff ! The 
amendment can never be carried. See what the Free Press said the 
other day ; it had about one half of its paper filled with speeches against 
it, and with good big men here. "Why, the Opera House was packed 
with men who thought as they did. If carried, good-by, Detroit ! I am 
off to some other place ; no drinks, no money here, and that is what I 
want. I tell you, lots of it is drunk in these houses, and if it was not 
for that, girls would be in hard luck ; but the boys will beat it sure.' 

" The keeper of another house said : ' No prohibition here. That 
Duffield meeting was the thing ! You can't do without it. Men will 
drink. Why, look how many there are in the business, and they ain't 
going to shut up, and don't you forget it.' 

" In another house the proprietress said : ' You can come here any 
time in the next ten years and get what you want, if you pay for it. 
Prohibition won't be carried and I know it. All the men say so. Why, 
you can't do it. When they want to drink they will do it, and those 
who don't want it "will let it alone. Say, did you read the papers the 



308 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

other day ? You ought to see the speeches made by all the big men here. 
They say it can' t be done — that license is right ; and so it is. ' 

" In another house : ' I will bet you the drinks all around that the 
amendment won't carry. Too many want their drinks. See what a large 
amount is drunk in the sporting houses. That is how a good many of 
the men spend their money, having the girls to while away a few hours 
with. They take enough to make them feel good, and generally behave 
themselves. Better for them to take it in a comfortable house than in 
saloons with a lot of dead-beats waiting to be treated. We pay our 
license and will have it.' 

"In another house : ' I don't believe it can be carried. Too many 
want the stuff, and the best men in town patronize our house and like 
to treat the girls. It does no one any harm, and gives the men lots of 
pleasure to spend a social hour. Mark my words, you will never see 
prohibition in this State. The whiskey men have a good deal of money 
that is to be used to defeat it, and you bet they will do it. These poli- 
ticians know their business, and know where they get help on election 
day. The speeches of Dumeld and Kent were just to the point.' 

" The proprietress of another house said : ' It never can be carried. 
Look at what the big men say. If it should be carried it will make 
our houses dull. I have been here only a few months, but I have 
seen enough to convince me that a great many men come into houses, 
and are drunk or pretty well set up when they come, and when they 
wake up in the morning in our room, curse and swear to find where they 
are. Of course it will be dull, but if the business is prohibited, I guess 
it will be no good.' 

" A canvass of eighty saloons showed a unanimous vote against the 
amendment and a unanimous indorsement of Duffield's and Kent's 
speeches. Mr. Duffield should not have invited this comparison, for the 
world knows that the professedly good and avowedly bad are working 
together, to defeat the amendment in Michigan. 

" On the night of the 4th of April, if the amendment be defeated, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 309 

where will the rejoicing be ? Down in the slums where bad men chink 
glasses with bad women ! In drinking houses and drinking hells, 
where mothers' boys are ruined ! In the saloons, where husbands are 
made brutes ! In bar-rooms, where fathers are wrecked ! But if the 
amendment be carried, there will not be a drunkard's wife or a drunk- 
ard's child who will not see the stars of hope breaking through the 
clouds of despair ! The church bells will ring, the moral people of the 
State will rejoice, and the angels in heaven will sing an anthem over a 
State redeemed from the licensed promoters of vice, crime, and im- 
morality !" 

Mr. Finch received many letters of congratulation from 
prominent temperance workers for this masterly effort. 
The following was especially prized by him. 

" Fenton, Mich., March 28, 1887. 

" Deae John : Bless your soul ! I would hug you if I could. I just 
read your speech. It does not leave enough of Mr. Duffield's arguments 
for a c free bar-room lunch.' 

" I do pray that some good angel may watch over and keep you, to 
lead us into the promised land of prohibition. 

" Do not overwork. You deserve a good rest after this week. 

" We cannot afford to lose you, my boy, until the final victory comes 
to the nation. I believe there is a great future for John B. Finch. 

" God bless you, John, always. 

" Lovingly j 7 ours ever, 

" Geoege W. Bain." 

In a very kindly editorial concerning the life and labors 

of Mr. Finch, the Michigan Christian Advocate refers to 

his answer to Duffield and his associates : 

" John B. Finch took part in every great campaign for the Prohibition 
Party during recent years, and was the strong right arm of every move- 



310 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

ment for winning constitutional or local prohibition which he entered. 
Since the death of John B. Gotigh, Mr. Finch has been everywhere con- 
sidered the foremost platform orator for temperance and prohibition in 
America. His address at Beecher Hall in this city during the amendment 
campaign was a magnificent effort, and those who listened to its logic 
and its remarkably brilliant passages will never forget either the orator 
or the oration." 

His intense interest in the Michigan campaign and ardent 
hope for success is indicated in the following letter written 
to Chancellor Fairfield two weeks after the election : 

" Shamokin, Pa., April 19, 1887. 

" My dear Doctoe : Your more than kind letter of April 10th came to 
me here to-day. I truly appreciate your kind words, for though new 
friends may praise, their words can never take the place of words of 
commendation and confidence from the old friends. 

" Our defeat in Michigan made me half heartsick. I have kept a stiff 
upper lip in public, but, in private, if it were not for my faith in God, 
I should feel like giving up. If there had been ten honest Kepublican 
leaders like you in Michigan we should have had an honest count, or a 
majority so large they could not have counted it out. 

" The only hope for the future must be in the destruction of the old 
corrupt party machines, and the pushing of honorable leaders to the 
front. 

•■ For the good of humanity and civilization we must win, and must 

stand together to win. 

" Your friend, 

" John B. Finch." 

Unable to participate in person in the struggles for con- 
stitutional prohibition in Texas, Tennessee, and Oregon, 
he arranged for the distribution of several thousand copies 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 311 

of " The People vs. the Liquor Traffic" in each of those 
States, and to the workers he gave counsel and advice in 
hundreds of letters and personal interviews. 

In conversation with friends in Chicago some months 
before the election in the above States, he said, in answer 
to their expressions of confidence of victory in Texas : 

" 'No, we shall not carry Texas. The national Demo- 
cratic leaders will not permit it. It will be defeated by 
more than seventy-five thousand majority. The Republi- 
can leaders have determined to beat us in Oregon, and I do 
not believe we shall carry Tennessee, though the majority 
against us in that State may not be very large. The edict 
of the old party leaders has gone forth, and we shall carry 
no more constitutional amendments while they are in power. 
Our next victory for the principle must be won by the 
Prohibition Party, and it will be impossible to win by any 
other means. The education of the people in amendment 
campaigns will be helpful, but if it were not for that I 
should consider it time and money wasted to ever go into 
such a campaign again." 

J. B. Cranfill, editor of the Waco (Texas) Advance, 
writes concerning the defeat of constitutional prohibition 
in that State : 

" At the close of the campaign in Texas, there was a tremendous pres- 
sure brought to bear on party Prohibitionists, to abandon their organ- 
ization, give up the fight forever, and again be merged into the Demo- 
cratic Party. 



312 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" As Chairman of the State Executive Committee, I felt the force of 
this pressure. I wrote to John B. Finch explaining the situation. His 
answer came, the last letter I ever received from him. It was dated 
September 12th, 1887, and is as follows : 

" ' My dear Friend Cranfill : I have read the result of the Texas elec- 
tion. I sympathize with you in your defeat, but hope, like the defeat at 
Bunker Hill, it may mean ultimate victory. There is but one thing for 
you to do, and that is to defeat the whiskey democracy of Texas ; and 
you must build up a party to do it.' 

" His regret at our defeat was heartfelt and deep. While I was North, 
soliciting funds for our campaign, no one took a heartier interest than 
Mr. Finch. He had previously sent his personal check for $50. He gave 
me letters to friends in the East, who did much to help the work. His 
heart was always open to the call for help in the grand cause to which he 
dedicated his life." 

The Rochester (New York) Weekly News said : 

" Always vigilant and active in the interests of the Order, he was ever 
ready to send speakers not only to the different States to assist in cam- 
paigns for constitutional prohibition, but usually led them into the field. 
Cut off in the early prime of his manhood, he illustrates Young's ex- 
pression — 

" ' That life is long which answers life's great end.' " 

His wonderful stores of knowledge, especially on all sub- 
jects nearly or remotely related to the temperance question ; 
his powers of vivid description and systematic reasoning ; 
the fascination of his magnetic eloquence — all combined to 
make his platform work almost a necessity to the success of 
the cause. 

Concerning John B. Finch as an orator, that peerless 
American lecturer, George W. Bain, writes : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 313 

" Of John B. Finch as a husband, father, friend, or citizen, one might 
hope to give illustrations which would portray the character of the man 
so much missed and mourned ; but in entering the theatre where he 
won his greatness and attempting to analyze his oratory, I cannot hope to 
do him justice. 

" No words, however fitly chosen, can in a brief space measure the 
man who, from obscurity at the age of twenty-six, reaches such an emi- 
nence of fame at thirty-five. 

" He had other elements of greatness than platform power, but it was 
his ability as a speaker that winged his flight to an early fame. While 
he was not what the world would call a born genius, who, despite himself, 
must be distinguished, yet he possessed natural qualities seldom given 
to men. These qualities he strengthened by application and constant 
practice, and had he lived, would have matured them into a perfection 
few orators have reached. He grew very rapidly in the graces of oratory 
during the last two years of his life, the marked improvement being in 
spirit of address and ease of delivery. 

" He was not only an orator, but a thinker whose correct reasoning 
brought conviction to all unprejudiced minds. He went to the depth of 
his subject, and as the skilled hunter makes sure of his aim ere he 
springs the trigger, so did John B. Finch have a precision of aim which 
never failed. Very few men have lived in this or any other age who in 
the same space of time so mastered the art of oratory and used it to 
garland such strength of thought. His matured argument, precision of 
aim, and clearness of expression were supported by a strong personality. 
His earnestness was magnetism ; his attitude eloquence ; his eye sa- 
gacity ; his lips courage ; and these, with his manly form, bearing, and 
gestures, made him a powerful platform speaker. I have had opportuni- 
ties to feel the force of his combined powers, for it was my embarrassing 
lot to share with him on twenty successive evenings the honors of New 
England platforms. 

" The last time I heard him was in Lexington, Ky., before a large 



314 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

audience. Smoothly and naturally he entered upon the discussion of 
his theme. His ease of manners told his confidence in his cause, while 
his clearness of statement and concise reasoning told his knowledge of 
his subject. It was an arraignment of the liquor traffic. As he ad- 
vanced, it was as a great vessel without a rope amiss or mast ajar, and 
harmless pressure in every sail, ploughing the waters with an ease which 
proclaims her mistress of the sea. 

" He met the arguments against prohibition as the bow of the vessel 
meets the blue waves and dashes them into spray. 

" One minute he would uncover a sophistry and leave no doubt of the 
exposure ; then rend a deception with his piercing statement of the 
truth, clinch every argument he made with irresistible force of reason- 
ing, and massing all the elements of opposition, he rode over them like 
an eagle on the face of a storm. 

" He was not a mimic, yet he had a remarkable power of facial ex- 
pression, and of a character suited to the highest order of talent. I 
have seen him when a denunciation of the wicked license system was 
accompanied with a look of inexpressible disgust ; again, when his eyes, 
ablaze with flashes of fire, would illumine his whole range of thought ; then 
would come a peroration wreathed in smiles which beamed with faith in 
the ultimate verdict of the people, and these radiations of triumphant 
assurance would so thrill his audience as to make strong men weep with 
joy, while applause long and loud attested his power. 

" The strength of his mind, art of his eloquence, and courage of his 
convictions, enabled him to deal in sarcasm, which, though it cut to the 
quick, was effective because of the smoothness of the blade. 

" In no one effort, perhaps, did he so nearly come up to the full meas- 
ure of his powers as when he replied to Hon. D. Bethune Duffield, 
of Detroit, during the constitutional amendment campaign in Michi- 
gan. 

" A prominent citizen of Detroit said, ' It has not been equalled since 
Webster answered Hayne ;' but only those who were present to see and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 315 

hear him could get the full force of the effort. Cold type could no more 
report John B. Finch than it could Henry Clay. 

" The old adage, ' It is not so much what a man says as the way he 
says it,' I saw exemplified when associated with Mr. Finch in the ' no- 
license ' campaign in Massachusetts about three years ago. We were 
invited to address the young men of Harvard College. Kev. Edward 
Everett Hale presided. "When he introduced John B. Finch, he arose 
and said : ' Young gentlemen, I am from the frontiers of civilization, 
where the " cow-boys" and the Indians live. You have read of the red 
man, but perhaps you know nothing of the " cow-boy." If not, it may 
be of interest to tell you something of this cattle ranch monarch. A 
cow-boy is the graduate of an Eastern college.' I was seated where I could 
not see the force of his expressive face, and I shuddered lest this bold 
definition of a ' cow-boy ' should be received with hisses. 

1 ' But the college boys could see the open, kindly face of the broad- 
browed orator, and behind the definition they read the deeper meaning 
that college culture, without other graces of manhood, could easily degen- 
erate into ' cow-boy ' character, while in the ' cow-boy ' were elements 
of manhood which, if supplemented by college culture, would make a 
useful citizen. They accepted the lesson, c A man's a man for a' thai,' 
and made the chapel ring with applause. 

" No greater evidence can be given of his ability as a platform speaker 
than the speed of his upward flight. In 1878 talkiDg on the streets and 
in canvas tents of the far "West, a comparatively friendless and unknown 
reformer ; in 1887 pacing, with the steady tread of a veteran, the platform 
of Tremont Temple, Boston, with seats and aisles crowded by the culture 
of the East, to shout his genius onward and upward. In 1878 the humble 
follower of a principle to which he pledged his mother he would prove 
true ; in 1887 the leader of the Prohibition Party of this country, the 
reunited Good Templary of the world and the air freighted with the 
sighs of sorrowing thousands who mourn his death. 

" While it is not my province in this tribute to refer to him except as 



316 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

an orator, the crowding memories of an association full of evidences of 
his generous nature, and the unreconciled thought of his dying in the 
very prime of manhood, with great purposes in view, prompts me to 
close this humble tribute to his platform powers with a heartfelt expres- 
sion I gave in an article soon after his death — oh, that his life-blood 
could have played healthful music through the valves of his great heart, 
as did great thoughts course through his massive brain, to the delight of 
his hearers and the service of his country and his kind." 



CHAPTER X. 

NO LICENSE AND OTHER WORK. 

No answer comes to those that pray 

And idly stand 
And wait for stones to roll away 

At God's command. 
He will not break the binding cords 

Upon us laid, 
If we depend on pleading words 

And do not aid. 
When hands are idle, words are vain 

To move the stone ; 
An aiding angel would disdain 

To work alone. 
But he who prayeth, and is strong 

In faith and deed, 

And toileth earnestly, erelong 

He will succeed. 

J. G. Rockwell. 

npHERE could be no more convincing evidence of the 
-*- versatility of Mr. Finch's genius and his marvellous 
perseverance than the successes achieved by him in different 
lines of work. 

As a Good Templar organizer he won an enviable reputa- 
tion. 



318 TEE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCR. 

As a Red Ribbon revivalist he made a lasting impression 
upon the communities visited. 

As a debater he stood pre-eminent. 

As a counsellor he was wise and prudent, far-seeing and 
sagacious. 

As an executive his administration was bold and progres- 
sive, though always cautious and discreet. 

As a party leader he was shrewd, cool, and intrepid, 
seeming to be always forewarned of his adversary's intended 
attack and ready for a gallant defence. 

In each of these lines of work peculiar qualities are re- 
quired, and he lacked none of them. To whichever line 
of effort he bent his thought, for the time that care and 
duty absorbed all his energies. But it was never difficult 
for him to shift from one kind of work to another. In the 
heat of a partisan campaign to-day, he could take his place 
to-morrow in the line with non-partisan workers for no 
license or local option, and receive recognition there as the 
most discreet and judicious leader of this anti-liquor legion. 

In 1883 and 1884 Mr. Finch made an engagement for 
several months of consecutive work in Massachusetts, leav- 
ing home in October. It had always been his custom to 
spend the holidays at home, but in view of the fact that 
they would come in the middle of his engagement and to 
be at home would necessitate the loss of much time and the 
long and expensive journey to Nebraska and return, more 
than thirty-six hundred miles, he wrote to Mrs. Finch : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 319 

" If yon can take care of the home and the boy 1 will 
remain iD Massachusetts through the holidays and put the 
money saved into temperance work here. ' ' 

He remained five months, speaking almost constantly. 
He often wrote home : 

" This is a long, dreary winter, away from wife and boy, 
but I hope I am building a temperance sentiment that will 
be as enduring as the New England hills." 

At other times he would write : 

" I hardly know how I can endure this constant absence 
from home, being away four fifths of the time. It is the 
life of a tramp. ' ' 

Again he wrote Mrs. Finch : 

" I wish you could come and spend the holidays with 
me here." 

In the home, the loneliness of Mrs. Finch was even 
greater during those dreary months of her husband's ab- 
sence. One day she said to Mrs. Sibley : 

" I cannot endure this long winter unless I am actively 
engaged in something that will employ my mind and help 
me to forget my loneliness." 

Mrs. Sibley was at that time editing and publishing two 
largely circulated temperance papers, through the medium 
of which she had an extensive acquaintance in the State. 
She at once suggested the plan of making a series of ap- 
pointments for Mrs. Finch, urging her to give some elocu- 
tionary entertainments. To this plan Mrs. Finch gave 



320 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

assent, on condition that Mrs. Sibley would accompany her, 
and the arrangements were accordingly made. Of this 
work Mrs. Sibley says : 

" Several years have intervened since Mrs. Finch and I 
made the trip referred to, but in my memory are recorded 
the occurrences as plainly as if they were of yesterday. 

4 ' ' Little John ' was our escort, and insisted upon carrying 
his mother's satchel. When he was remonstrated with, 
and told that it was too heavy, he quietly appropriated it, 
saying : - It doesn' t look well for ladies to carry things. I 
shall carry it myself.' 

" During the entire trip there was a very severe storm — 
a regular Nebraska blizzard, with the thermometer from 
ten to thirty degrees below zero. 

" But full houses greeted Mrs. Finch everywhere. They 
were mixed audiences, as is the case in our Western towns. 
Some who were graduates of our colleges, and others who 
had never attended school ; some who were bright and 
intelligent, and others dull and unsympathetic ; but the 
portraiture of the varied characters was given with such 
masterful power that the entire audiences indulged in the 
most hearty applause. 

" One moment tears would trickle down the cheeks of 
the hearers as some deeply pathetic scene was depicted, and 
perhaps the next, all would be smiling through the crystal 
drops at some sudden humorous sentence. I thought of 
the orator of whom it is said that he could move an audi- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 321 

ence to tears and laughter alternately by simply repeating 
the word ' Mesopotamia/ and felt that his power was being 
rivalled. 

* ( Every night requests from the audience would be sent 
to Mrs. Finch that one or more selections might be re- 
peated, and the second recital was certain to be interrupted 
by prolonged applause. 

" One of these entertainments was given in the city where 
the State President of the Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union resided, and after the close of the exercises this lady 
said to me : l How much the temperance cause has missed 
because Mrs. Finch does not go upon the platform as one 
of our speakers ! With her superior power to make her 
words impressive and effective, she would win so many 
recruits to our ranks. It would be of the greatest benefit 
to our cause if circumstances should some time compel her 
to take up this grand work. ' 

" The trip was an exceedingly pleasant one despite the 
severe weather. 

' ' Although Mrs. Finch realized keenly the sacrifice she 
was making in giving up her husband to the temperance 
work of a distant State, she was cheerful, bright, and enter- 
taining, and only once did her friends catch a glimpse of 
the mental struggle she was passing through. 

" One day the friend at whose house we were being 
entertained returned from the post-office and brought no 
letter from her absent husband. She did not seem to under- 



322 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. F1N0H. 

stand, and said : ' There certainly is a letter for me. This 
is the day it should reach me, and Mr. Finch never fails to 
write to me. ' A feeling of anxiety settled over her face 
which was visible until it was discovered, a few hours later, 
that her letter had been delivered to another family by the 
name of Finch. Then the sunshine came back as she said : 
' I knew he had written.' " 

Dr. Richard Eddy, Benjamin R. Jewell, and James H. 
Roberts have prepared the following description of the 
work of Mr. Finch in Massachusetts, much of which was in 
aid of no-license struggles : 

" Nearly all the work done by Mr. Finch in Massachusetts was under 
the direction of the Committee on Constitutional Amendment ; most of 
it with that issue directly in view. A committee was selected represent- 
ing all the leading temperance organizations and religious denomina- 
tions in the State, Catholic and Protestant, and all political parties. All 
agreed that the overthrow of the dram-shop was the most important 
work to which they could devote their united energies. Constitutional 
prohibition was their ultimate aim, but any temperance effort, though it 
did not point directly to that end, had their full sympathy and co-oper- 
ation. The road to constitutional prohibition is a long one. At the best 
it requires three years for the people to decide the issue, and meanwhile 
much else might be done to educate the people. 

" The annual recurrence of the vote in the towns and cities on the 
question of license or no license, furnished the opportunity for doing 
some of this much-needed work. The committee determined on using 
Mr. Finch in this field. No Sooner had they announced their purpose 
than applications for his services poured in from every part of the com- 
monwealth. His fame had gone before him, and the demands to hear 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 323 

him were more than could be supplied. Day after day for weeks to- 
gether he pleaded the cause of the citizen and the home, presenting facts 
and arguments with faultless logic and most fervid eloquence. No law- 
yer was ever more devoted to the interests of his client, by familiarizing 
himself with the facts in the case, by careful preparation of the most 
favorable and convincing manner of presenting them to the court, and 
in winning a verdict from the jury, than was John B. Fineh in prepar- 
ing, presenting, and urging the People's Cause on the attention of the 
crowds who flocked to hear him. His methods were direct, aggressive, 
incisive. He was fighting no imaginary foe. He performed his work in 
no perfunctory manner. A damning curse confronted him, and he knew 
that it had no excuse for being. He drew against it the invincible 
' sword of the Lord and of Gideon,' and dealt his blows on the monster 
Tice that threatened our people's homes as stoutly and as effectively as 
though the assault of the demon had been on his own wife and boy, fre- 
quently making mention of them as threatened and assailed equally with 
the dear ones in other homes. The strength of his own affections and 
his fidelity to the best interests of those on whom he had centred them, 
gave a reality to his sympathy with all the homes in the land that was 
obvious to all who heard him. This conviction of his sincerity gave 
him a strong hold on the people, and was the chief reason of his popular- 
ity with the masses. They saw before them a man who was interested 
in their highest good, and their response to his arguments and appeals 
was instant and hearty ; and, in a great majority of instances, has been 
constant. 

" His power to disarm prejudice was manifest wherever he appeared. 
Many instances are known to us of his entire conquest of men of intelli- 
gence and influence who, having severely criticised what they had been 
informed were his theories and methods, became, by force of argument, 
their most zealous champions. It may be said, without in the least de- 
tracting from the merits and influence of other speakers, that Mr. Finch 
was the most effective advocate of aggressive war upon the liquor traffic 



324: THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

that has ever appeared on the American platform. He dealt in no plati- 
tudes, resorted to no merely sensational methods, indulged in no super- 
ficial statements, was not satisfied with leaving a mere sensation of 
pleasure in the minds of his hearers. He was too much in earnest in 
seeking the overthrow of the rum power, to be other than direct and to 
the purpose in all his utterances. He believed that the people should 
be enlightened as to the facts in regard to the evil he was warring 
against, and he made himself thoroughly acquainted with those facts. 
His studies in physiology, law, ethics, economic forces, and the prin- 
ciples of government, were utilized in meeting objections, repelling 
sophistical assaults, and producing general enlightenment. He aimed 
to touch the conscience, rouse it to action, and to bring men to an ac- 
knowledgment of its authority. 

" The result of his work in Massachusetts was manifest in an in- 
creased and frequently a victorious no-license vote. Many men went 
to the polls with a sense of the responsibility of citizenship such as they 
had never felt before. Many a man followed up the result of his ballot 
with a personal interest in the enforcement of the will expressed by the 
ballot, such as he had never dreamed of experiencing before ; and, as a 
consequence, the law against the dram-shop was enforced, and its benefi- 
cence was demonstrated. In addition to this immediate result, Mr. 
Finch's campaign in this commonwealth exerted an incalculable influ- 
ence in creating and intensifying the public sentiment which has become 
so pronounced as to compel the dominant party to recognize the demand 
of the people for the privilege of voting on a constitutional amendment. 
It greatly aided in putting conscience into our politics, and in bringing 
hundreds and thousands to realize that party ties are burdensome and a 
curse unless the party to whom former allegiance has been paid shall 
recognize and provide for the supreme interest of the home, and plant 
itself squarely and sincerely on an avowal to root out and exterminate 
the dram-shop, the constantly menacing foe of the home. In this re- 
spect his arguments have a dynamic force which, with constantly accu- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 325 

mulating momentum, will be felt in their influence against the ' giant 
crime of crimes,' until its complete overthrow is accomplished. When 
that day comes we shall see more clearly than we do now the beneficence 
of the work of John B. Finch in Massachusetts." 

About the middle of March, 1884, Mr. Finch concluded 
the work of the winter in Massachusetts and hurried west- 
ward. A few days earlier Mrs. Finch had come to Evans- 
ton from Nebraska to continue her studies at the North- 
western University, where she had taken a thorough course 
in elocution and English literature. "When Mr. Finch 
reached Chicago the exhausted strength wholly gave way, 
and he was barely able to reach Evanston, only twelve 
miles away, where the devoted wife was waiting for 
him. 

He was utterly prostrated by his work, and the tension of 
the nerve forces could not but relax. Eheumatism of the 
heart and neuralgia, in his already feeble condition, came 
with a severity he had never experienced before. For 
many days he was unconscious, his pulse grew fainter, and 
the soul seemed struggling to break its moorings of mor- 
tality. Friends said : "He cannot live." The attending 
physicians admitted their grave apprehensions. Dr. Web- 
ster often called at midnight, always finding Mrs. Finch at 
her post, watching every motion of her husband and striv- 
ing to count the scarcely perceptible pulse. 

" I know where to find you, Mrs. Finch," he often re- 
marked. " You are always on duty. If I had as faithful 



326 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

a nurse for each of my patients I should be more certain 
they would always have proper care." 

One night, when Mr. Finch' s pulse was feeblest, he often 
reached out unconsciously to find Mrs. Finch, restless until 
her hands were clasped in his, when he would become quiet 
and seem satisfied. 

When asked, after his recovery, if he realized this action 
and remembered his feelings, he said to his wife : 

' - I thought that I was going away, and when I took 
your hand I felt more secure." 

Dr. Jutkins called one day while the scale of life and 
death seemed evenly balanced, and kissing him on the fore- 
head, knelt in silent prayer. Mr. Finch recognized his 
visitor, and was greatly impressed by the action, often re- 
calling it afterward, saying it was one of the most beautiful 
and pathetic scenes he ever witnessed. 

Daily messages were sent to friends, and one night at 
two o'clock this telegram was sent by Mrs. Finch : 

" Mr. Sibley, we may need you at any moment. Cancel 
your appointments and be prepared to come. ' ' 

The order was obeyed, but the crisis was safely passed, 
and the brave, struggling soul was given a few more years 
to do its appointed work. By the middle of May he was 
again at work, determined to use every hour of life left to 
him in the service of humanity. 

When he first became conscious, after the crisis was 
passed, he insisted that he had not been sick, was as well 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 3*27 

as he ever had been, and should commence making his 
appointments at once. 

Devoutly as he believed in the Prohibition Party and in 
Good Templary as the most efficient means of pushing the 
reform along the two lines of moral and of legal suasion, 
he was so broad and liberal in liis views that he could main- 
tain the most cordial and fraternal relations with workers 
whose ideals differed widely from his own. 

The destruction of the liquor traffic was the end to be 
attained, and he neither lost sight of that aim nor allowed 
it to be forgotten by others. Temperance societies, lodges, 
associations, and party organization were to him only for- 
tresses where loyal hosts were to be disciplined and drilled 
for constant sorties against the encompassing legions of the 
rum power. 

In a Good Templar address at the Academy of Music in 
Macon, Ga., January 25th, 1887, he said : 

4 6 The purpose of the Order is the destruction of the evils 
growing out of the liquor traffic. The Order is simply a 
means for the accomplishment of an end. We are Good 
Templars because we desire to accomplish a certain work 
and to overcome a certain evil. If we believed that there 
was any other organization better adapted to accomplish 
this work than Good Templary, then we should regard it as 
our duty to abandon the organization which we are leading 
and work to build up the better one." 

In patriotism and in philanthropy he was equally cosmo- 



328 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

politan. In every country he desired to see stable govern- 
ments, founded upon the integrity and clean manhood of 
the people. In every land he hoped for impartial justice 
to man, woman, and child. He had profound faith that 
the time would come 

" When the lands shall join hands, and the hoarse cannon mutter 
Their discords no more to the children of men." 

He planned no less for the advancement of Good Tem- 
plary and its aims in Europe, Africa, or New Zealand than 
in his native land. In Canada he was recognized as an 
efficient worker in the local campaigns for the suppression 
of the dram-shop. 

In the Canadian provinces, as in the different States of 
his own country, he familiarized himself with the statutes 
and municipal ordinances, and was able to discuss local 
issues with the best posted citizens. 

The Canada Citizen voices the feeling throughout the 
Dominion : " Canada owes to both his tongue and pen a 
heavy debt of gratitude for valuable aid in the conflicts 
in which he so frequently helped us to carry the Scott 
Act banner to glorious victory. His name was a household 
word in this as well as his native land. ' ' 

The Home Journal, of Des Moines, la., expresses the 
universal sentiment when it says : 

" During the last decade, wherever the cause of temper- 
ance was endangered, there was found John B. Finch, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 329 

striking manfully for the highest and best interests of 
society. No antagonist ever met him in debate, that was 
not worsted. No man or woman, sorrowed by the curse of 
intemperance, ever appealed to Mr. Finch in vain. Where- 
ever he went, with him went joy and sunshine. Sorrow 
was lifted in his presence, and sunlight took its place." 

The popularity of Mr. Finch in the Canadian pro vine 
was equal to the public favor he enjoyed at home. 

In 1884 P. J. Chisholm, then Grand Chief Templar of 
Nova Scotia, met Mr. Finch in "Washington, D. C, and 
endeavored to arrange with him for a trip to the Maritime 
Provinces, without success, his time being so fully occu- 
pied. He was able, however, to give eleven days in the 
month of February, 1885, to their work. 

His first appointment was at Amherst, and the second at 
Bass River, a factory town sixteen miles from the railroad. 
The morning after his second appointment the driver of the 
mail stage started at the usual hour with Mr. Finch for the 
railway. At a village three miles from the station the driver 
learned that the train was more than an hour late, and there- 
fore delayed the resumption of his journey for that length of 
time, arriving at the railroad ten minutes after the train 
had departed. 

Mr. Finch then inquired of the station-master : 
" When will the next train reach Halifax V 
" Not before 8.30 or 9 this evening, and probably later, 
as the road is blocked with snow. ' ' 



330 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

This would be too late for the lecture which was an- 
nounced for the evening. He determined to reach Halifax 
in time. 

" Can I get a special for Halifax ?" he asked. 

'■ Yes. It will cost you eighty dollars." 

" I didn't ask the cost. How soon can it be ready ?" 

6 1 Within an hour." 

" What time will that enable me to reach Halifax ?" 

"By 3 p.m., probably sooner. Not more than an hour 
behind the train you just missed." 

u Well, get your special around here as quickly as you 
can." 

Telegrams were sent the superintendent, orders issued, 
and in the specified time the engine and one coach were 
ready to take Mr. Finch to his appointment. 

Mr. Chisholm had gone to Halifax to see that all arrange- 
ments were perfected and the meeting well advertised, as 
he felt the importance of this first meeting in the chief city 
of the province. 

At the station he waited the coming of the regular train 
with impatience, which changed to bitter chagrin and dis- 
appointment when it arrived without the one passenger in 
whom he felt at that moment the most absorbing interest. 

As he was turning away his eye caught the announce- 
ment on a bulletin board : 

" Special train on the way from Truro." 

Hoping that by some fortunate accident Mr. Finch had 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 331 

caught the " special," he stepped into the telegraph office 
and asked : 

" What special is that coming from Truro ?" 

The answer surprised and overjoyed him : 

" The special was chartered by Hon. John B. Finch, the 
lecturer. " 

On the arrival of the train Mr. Chisholm greeted the 
solitary passenger with the jocular words : 

u Are not our regular trains good enough for you V 

" You did not suppose I was coming down here to ride 
on your old, slow, regular trains when specials were to be 
had, did you ?" laughingly answered Mr. Finch, and then 
proceeded to relate the circumstances. 

The attendance at the evening meeting was not large, 
but all present were held spellbound for two hours. The 
morning papers contained good reports, and the evening 
papers announced that a representative of the liquor inter- 
est would ask for the privilege of debating with him at the 
next meeting. 

Hon. J. W. Longley, Attorney-General of Nova Scotia, 
presided and introduced Mr. Finch on the second evening. 
No one appeared, to debate with him, however, and at the 
close of his address Mr. Finch said : 

" I have been informed that some man representing the 
liquor interest desired to debate this question with me. It 
was expected that he would announce himself here to-night, 
and I would have cheerfully divided the time with him. 



332 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Lest there may have been a misapprehension, I will now 
announce that I am engaged for another city for to-morrow 
evening, but if the opponents of temperance desire to 
oppose me or the cause I advocate, I will cancel my ap- 
pointment and meet them on this platform to discuss the 
question to-morrow night, provided they will notify me of 
their wishes before the train leaves to-morrow morning. " 

The announcement was received with tremendous ap- 
plause, but this challenge met no response. 

Several prominent gentlemen accompanied Mr. Finch to 
his room after the lecture and were chatting with him, 
when a reporter sent up his card. 

" Show him up," was Mr. Finch's easy order. 

' ' I came to interview you, ' ' remarked the news-gatherer 
upon entering. 

" All right," said Mr. Finch ; " you can proceed, if you 
do not object to the presence of my friends." 

~No verbal objections were made, but the look on the 
reporter's face did not betray great satisfaction. 

After an hour of very diligent questioning and quick, 
clear-headed replies from Mr. Finch, the reporter retired, 
thanking him for his patience and promising that the Mon- 
day morning Chronicle should contain the interview in full. 

When the interviewer had departed, Mr. Finch turned to 
the gentlemen who had been listening and asked : 

" You heard what that fellow said about this interview 
appearing in the morning Chronicle V 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 333 

" Yes." 

" Well, mark my words, not one line of it will ever 
appear. ' ' 

The listeners were surprised at the prediction, but it was 
f ullilled ; no mention was ever made of the interview in 
the columns of the Chronicle. 

The next morning a number of leading and influential 
gentlemen called upon him and expressed the desire to have 
him address the people once more, on the following Sunday 
afternoon, at the Academy of Music. He consented, and 
the announcement was made. 

Sunday came, and Mr. Finch was ready for his meeting 
at 4 p.m. Snow had been falling all day and a fierce wind 
raged, heaping great drifts at every street corner and cross- 
ing. Mr. Finch and Mr. Chisholm were looking from the 
window at the storm, when the hour for meeting arrived. 
The latter remarked : 

" It is useless to go to the Academy of Music this after- 
noon. No one can face this storm." 

" Did you not announce a meeting for 4 o'clock ?" 
quickly asked Mr. Finch. 

" Yes, but we did not anticipate this storm." 

" Well, I am going. I always keep my engagements 
unless I am too sick to reach the place appointed," said 
Mr. Finch, as he proceeded to make preparations to start. 

Arrived at the Academy, both were surprised to find the 
building packed with people, and all the city clergymen on 



334 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 

the platform, while the Mayor waited to introduce the 
speaker. 

He won a warm place in the hearts of the people of Nova 
Scotia on his first visit, and on his return for twenty days 
in June his reception was most cordial. New Brunswick 
and Prince Edward Island caught the spirit, and petitioned 
for some speeches from him, which he gave them at his 
earliest opportunity, aiding them in several of their contests 
under the Scott Act, the Canada local-option law. 

In Canada, as in the United States, his work everywhere 
revealed his incessant eagerness for the triumph of his 
cause. 

In November and December, 1885, Mr. Finch made a 
tour through California, to fill thirty-five appointments 
made for him by Mr. Katzenstien, Grand Secretary of the 
Good Templars of that State. The arrangements were so 
perfect that Mr. Finch greatly enjoyed the trip. The 
people of the Pacific coast greeted him everywhere with 
ovations. 

Of his address at Woodlawn, the Woodlawn Mail says : 

" Those of our citizens who attended the Opera House yesterday even- 
ing were given the rarest treat known to men and women — a strong, 
powerful man, active, alert, vigorous, and logical, with a wonderful com- 
mand of language and a rare power of mimicry and delineation, filled to 
the brim with an earnest consciousness of great wrongs, believing that 
he has a panacea for their cure, stating the wrongs with a clearness of 
delineation that brings them right home to all present, aDd advocating 
the application of his cure with a powerful persuasiveness. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 335 

" As an orator, Mr. Finch's reputation preceding him has in no way 
suffered by his actual appearance before our public. Some of the 
orator's expressions showed a most wonderful compression of thought, 
and were received with enthusiastic applause. All present were pleased 
and delighted with the lecture, and a regret was felt that such forensic 
efforts are not of frequent occurrence.' ' 

The Auburn Argus says : 

" Hon. John B. Finch, Eight Worthy Grand Templar, lectured in the 
court-room last Friday evening, on temperance, to a large and very at- 
tentive audience. All present were highly edified and entertained, not 
to say instructed. Mr. Finch is a gentleman who can interest any audi- 
ence — that we say without hesitation ; whether the audience be friendly 
or hostile to his views, it matters not. He is the most eloquent temper- 
ance orator we have heard. His audience was probably the largest that 
has ever assembled in Auburn to hear the temperance question dis- 
cussed." 

The Los Angeles Herald of December 27th says : 

" Hon. John B. Finch delivered his first lecture in Los Angeles, on the 
subject of prohibition, to a very large audience in the Tabernacle last 
night. He is an easy, fluent speaker, full of anecdotes, and makes strong 
points for his peculiar views. The audience was carried away by Mr. 
Finch's eloquence, and at almost every sentence the applause was deaf- 
ening." 

The Placer Herald has the following : 

" The lecture of John B. Finch, delivered at the Court House, drew 
out the largest audience we have ever seen present at a lecture in the 
town ; and the hearers were not disappointed, as the lecture was one of 
the ablest and most interesting ever delivered here." 

After Mr. Finch had completed his trip through the 



336 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

State, the Rescue sums up the work in the following forcible 
manner : 

" Our distinguished brother, John B. Finch, has made his long-prom- 
ised, but all too brief visit to California, and the general feeling may be 
voiced by an enthusiastic friend, who writes : ' Mr. Finch came and has 
gone. I feel as if a comet had shot across my mental firmament. Thank 
God, we were privileged to secure his services. All our people are just 
thundering his praises.' 

" All that was promised in his behalf has been fully realized, and 
wherever he spoke the universal expression is that never were more pow- 
erful lectures heard, and everywhere he went he left the people thirsting 
for more. He was cordially received wherever he went, and whether 
his hearers agreed with him or not, he was accorded universal praise for 
the powerful presentation of his theme. The press throughout the State 
has been generous in its treatment of him, and prominent people express 
themselves in no less complimentary terms. 

" One correspondent says : 

" * When Finch undertakes to clean house, it is not only swept, but dust- 
ed as well ; when he gets through no one can longer doubt. He is one 
of the most convincing speakers I ever heard. He never aims at a flour- 
ish, but always reasons clearly ; he is really master of his subject.' The 
prospect of the return of Brother Finch to this coast next fall will be wel- 
come news to all." 

Many valuable gifts were presented him, Good Templars 
and other temperance workers vieing with each other in the 
value, beauty, or novelty of their offerings, among the 
most highly prized of which were a gold nugget brooch for 
Mrs. Finch, a blanket of the quaint and excellent workman- 
ship of the Navajo Indians of Arizona, and a book of 
pressed ferns gathered on the sea islands. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 337 

A magnificent reception was tendered him at San Fran- 
cisco. Invitations to return and to bring his family were 
pressed upon him from every point visited, and were em- 
phasized by similar requests from the officers of the Grand 
Lodge of Good Templars. Upon leaving the State he 
promised to comply with these requests at his earliest 
opportunity. The good wishes of the California people 
followed him, and on his arrival home he found substantial 
evidence of it in a large supply of the choicest collections 
of fruits, which had been shipped by friends on the coast. 
His impressions of the State are outlined in the following 
extracts from letters written to Mrs. Finch during his 
sojourn. 

One interesting letter, describing his trip through the 
Territories is particularly interesting, and characteristic of 
his appreciation of beautiful scenery ; 

" On Train Running down Green River, W. T., ) 
November 10, 1885. \ 

" I left Omaha Sunday evening. The trip yesterday was mostly over 
familiar ground, though it has changed much in the last four years. 
The cattle ranches of Western Nebraska are largely fenced with barbed 
wire, and little villages have sprung up all along the line. The party on 
our sleeper number fourteen, with one fat, chubby baby. 

" About 5 p.m. we obtained a glimpse of Long's Peak, in Northern 
Colorado, which was the only view of mountain scenery we had, as night 
settled down upon us as we were climbing the grade to Cheyenne. 
From Cheyenne the ascent to the summit is difficult. We arrived at 
Sherman, which is on the top of the Rocky Mountains, at 8.10 p.m. This 



338 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

morning, when I awoke at 6.30, we were on the Bitterwater Creek, be- 
yond the Laramie Plains. This is a terribly dreary waste. Sagebrush, 
greasewood rabbits, and rattlesnakes is all the country produces or ever 
will produce. An old miner here was asked for what purpose God made 
this country, and he answered, ' To hold the rest of the world together. ' 
"The trip down the Green Valley is grand — high bluffs, towering 
rocks, and distant mountains covered with snow. ' ' 

From Auburn, Cal., under date of November 27th, Mr. 
Finch writes : 

" The climate of California at this season, which is the ' rainy season,' 
is not one to impress an Eastern visitor favorably. 

" It rained steadily from last Friday to Thursday of this week. Oh, 
such rain ! it was a horridly ' wet ' rain. 

" On Tuesday I left Sacramento for Dutch Flat, a mountain town 
ninety miles from Sacramento and four thousand feet up in the Sierras. 
The Flat is above the snow line, and the change from the warm rain of 
the valley to the snow storms of the mountains, in four hours, was not 
a very pleasant experience. Yet I enjoyed the trip very much. I vis- 
ited all the great Placer mines, and studied hydraulic mining in all its 
details. 

" Yesterday I went with a gentleman to the top of Moody Bidge, to 
see the great canon of the North Fork of the American River. I wish 
you could have been with me, as it is impossible to describe the wonder- 
ful scene. Imagine, if you can, standing on a rock and looking down 
two thousand feet into a boiling, foaming river ! The view was grand. 
The only thing to mar the pleasure was your absence, but I promised 
Mrs. Frost to come again and bring you." 



The kind of work mattered not to him. Whether ad- 
dressing erudite audiences in the centres of culture, or 
humble dwellers of the far frontier, talking amid the hurry- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 339 

ing life of the great cities or in the calm of the quiet coun- 
try, he gave the best of his brain and strength to the work. 
The words of Bishop Heber seemed to be the rallying cry 
of his restless soul : 

" Then on ! then on ! where duty leads, 
My course be onward still. " 



CHAPTER XI. 

TEMPERANCE LITEKATTJKE. 

There is, first, the literature of knowledge ; and secondly, the liter- 
ature of power. The function of the first is to teach ; the function of 
the second is to move ; the first is a rudder, the second an oar or a sail. 
The first speaks to the mere discursive understanding ; the second 
speaks ultimately, it may happen, to the higher understanding or 
reason. — Be Quincey. 

HV 7T-R. FINCH was always an ardent devotee at the 
-L-*-*- shrine of literature. In all the wide range of books 
and periodicals he absolutely rejected nothing. From the 
lightest work of fiction to the most profound exegesis, he 
would thread his way, culling good from all. He was a 
student always. Political economy was his favorite study 
in later years. Every prominent authority on this subject 
was diligently consulted, and his volumes of Lieber, Mill, 
and other authors, bear marginal marks indicating his close 
and thoughtful study of the great writers. In his copious 
annotations he sometimes cordially approves the author's 
position, strengthening it by a vigorous sentence or two, 
and in other places he unhesitatingly criticises the theories 
advanced, and mercilessly scores the great political econo- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 341 

mists who have offered mistaken solutions of some problems 
of government. 

From the beginning of his temperance work he recog- 
nized the necessity of an extensive circulation of temper- 
ance newspapers and books. As will be seen by a perusal 
of his speeches, he had strong confidence in the potent 
influence for good, of education in the proper channels. 
He began to use the press as a medium of communication 
of his ideas and views to the public as early as the rostrum, 
or even earlier. 

"While engaged as a teacher he contributed several temper- 
ance letters to local newspapers, and in 1875, through the 
columns of the Marathon Independent, conducted a vigor- 
ous discussion on the justice and righteousness of the prin- 
ciple of prohibition. 

In 1876 he became one of the editors of the Temperance 
Investigator, published at Cherry Valley, N. Y. He made 
a strong endeavor to obtain for this paper a large circula- 
tion, and to make it a valuable educational influence in 
Central New York. 

In Nebraska he endeavored to build up the Western 
World and the Lincoln Tribune, giving both time and 
money to their aid, and contributing many valuable letters 
for publication. He was among the first to arrange a com- 
prehensive plan for supplying the clergymen of the country 
with temperance books and papers. He donated a year's 
subscription to the Lincoln Weekly Tribune to every 



342 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

clergyman who would send his name to the office of the 
paper. 

The national temperance newspapers found him a warm 
friend, who never failed to urge the attention of the people 
to their claims. He desired that all of them should prosper 
and secure an extensive circulation. 

He knew that his own speeches made a marked impres- 
sion on the popular mind, and he regretted that he could 
not reach a wider audience. Encouraged by friends, he 
determined to gather his addresses into one volume, and 
send it out to the world. 

Dr. A. J. Jutkins, who was put in charge of the work 
of distribution of the earlier editions of " The People 
vs. the Liquor Traffic," explains his connection with the 
book : 

" During the autumn of 1882, Mr. Finch became impressed with the 
importance of a literary propaganda in the interest of prohibition, and 
also that the time had come for an effort in that direction. He confer- 
red with Samuel D. Hastings, and the plans were adopted. Mr. Finch 
believed that if first-class prohibition literature were printed in an at- 
tractive form, a market would be found for it among temperance people. 
On February 12th, 1883, he asked me to attend to the sale of his 
book, • The People vs. the Liquor Traffic. ' It came from the press Feb- 
ruary 27th. A correspondence had been in progress with prominent 
Good Templars, and a very gratifying interest was manifested in the 
volume. Its extraordinary ability was evident to all. So completely 
does it cover the ground of controversy that very little that is new has 
been added to what these lectures present. New illustrations and forms 
of presentation have been plentiful, but about all the argument may be 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 343 

found here. Any man who masters this volume will be prepared to 
appreciate the prohibition contention. 

" About twenty thousand copies of the book were circulated during 
the period from April 1st, 1883, to the present. Some were sold at re- 
tail, more at wholesale, to persons acting as agents ; but the most were 
sold in lots of a thousand at bare cost to grand lodges. Many were 
given away. Doubtless the main purpose — that of teaching the truth on 
this question — was achieved, but the cost of getting the book into the 
hands of readers was too great in proportion to the price received, and 
the enterprise did not support itself financially so as to justify con- 
tinued effort. 

" An edition of the volume was issued in Canada from revised plates, 
but I am not advised as to the details of the effort. 

1 ' During the year 1887 Mr. Finch made another revision of the plates, 
and the book has been printed by J. N. Stearns, of 58 Eeade Street, New 
York, and circulated quite extensively among Good Templars. This 
circulation is now in progress, and promises to become quite extensive, 
an impulse having been given by the fact of his death." 

Mr. Finch never asked, desired, or received any royalty 
from the publication of his speeches. He freely gave 
copies to persons and localities otherwise unable to procure 
them. Several large free distributions of the book were 
made in States from whence strong appeals came for copies 
to be used as campaign documents. Toward the expense 
of this distribution he always contributed liberally, glad to 
put the work in the hands of men who would give its 
propositions careful perusal and thought. 

" Educate the people in the fundamental principles of 
the reform and they will vote right and act right," Mr. 



344 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Finch often repeated. As the originator of the pians for a 
standing Committee on Literature in the Eight Worthy 
Grand Lodge, and for several years chairman of that com- 
mittee, he set in motion the forces which will make Good 
Templary one of the most thorough temperance schools 
ever established. 

While acting at the head of this Literature Committee, 
he made out a list of the best publications of the National 
Temperance Society, and urged the membership to buy, 
read, study, and circulate the books. 

He planned a Good Templar Chautauqua, and with the 
aid of other talented members, outlined a course of study 
which should teach temperance from the alphabet of the 
reform, all the way to the higher science and newest dis- 
covery. 

He had nearly perfected plans for a great international 
Good Templar periodical, which should contain the weekly 
lessons of the " course of study" and other matter of inter- 
est to the Order. He designed to commence the publica- 
tion with the new year. This journal he had determined 
to make a model of bright, newsy, instructive, " up-to-the- 
times" literature. 

John N. Stearns, the energetic Secretary of the National 
Temperance Society, gives his views concerning Mr. 
Finch's relation to temperance literature in the following 
letter : 

" Probably no man in this country had as clear and correct an estimate 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 345 

of the curse and crime of liquor drinking and selling, and the steps and 
measures necessary to be taken for its destruction, as John B. Finch. 
From my first acquaintance with him till his death he always emphasized 
the great value and importance of an intelligent conviction on the part 
of the people that the drink was bad and the traffic evil, and only evil, 
and that continually. 

" For many years he was a vice-president of the National Temperance 
Society, and took great interest in its educational work. He rightly 
estimated the value and importance of its non-partisan work as abso- 
lutely necessary to the creation of a right public sentiment among all 
classes of the community, a majority of which we must convince and 
convert, before our cause can triumph. At my last interview with him 
he dwelt more largely on the educational work, and I shall never forget 
how he said, ' I feel like leaving all my other fields of labor and throw- 
ing all my life into the educational forces, which shall yet redeem this 
country.' In November, 1880, writing from Lincoln, Neb., he said he 
desired to begin the work in that State on a solid basis, and wrote, 
1 Send me one hundred copies of " Our "Wasted Eesources," two hun- 
dred " Prohibitionists' Text-Book," and five hundred copies of Pitman's 
" Alcohol and the State." ' This was the beginning of a mighty work in 
that State. ' Load up,' he said to an immense audience at Silver Lake 
Assembly last summer, pointing to the books of the National Temper- 
ance Society, ' that you may be able to meet and answer the sophistries 
and arguments of your opponents.' And they loaded up. 

" He read every temperance book and document that he could find, so 
that from the rich storehouse of his mind he could ' draw things new 
and old,' as they were needed. He arranged to send the ' Catechism on 
Alcohol ' and other similar literature to every juvenile temple in this 
land free of charge, as an incentive and example for future work. He 
planned a ' course of study ' for every Good Templar, so that in three 
years they could go through every phase of the question, and be fully 
1 rooted and grounded ' in the faith. He had plans for every Grand and 



346 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

District Lodge of Good Templars to take more earnest and systematic 
hold of the circulation of a sound temperance literature among the mem- 
bers, and had just commenced with the State of "Wisconsin, where the 
Order heartily co-operated with him, and have circulated some seven 
thousand copies of the book of eleven speeches of Mr. Finch entitled 
* The People vs. the Liquor Traffic' Every State would do a good 
work for itself if it should follow the example. A book might be writ- 
ten of his thoughts and work on this line, but space forbids. He walks 
and talks no more on the earth, but his ' works do follow him.' May 
there be a multitude raised up who shall take up his life-work where 
he left it all too soon, and carry it on to a permanent and triumphant 
success." 

The public work done by Mr. Finch, together with the 
large correspondence carried on by him, would have 
seemed sufficient to have occupied all his waking hours. 
Beyond this, however, he accomplished a vast amount of 
labor, of which little was known, even by his most intimate 
friends. This consisted in the preparation of innumerable 
newspaper paragraphs, furnished to most of the temperance 
and many of the political journals of the country. These 
appeared without his signature, often in the editorial 
columns. 

Whenever he passed a day in any city where the local 
press attacked the temperance work or the workers and 
their methods, he quickly wrote a keen, concise, and some- 
times scathing review of the editorial or correspondence and 
quietly furnished it for publication in some local newspaper 
willing to insert it and defend the cause of temperance. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 347 

When some great public event bearing directly or re- 
motely upon the question of prohibition was being widely 
discussed, he would prepare several strong papers on the 
topic, showing its relations to the suppression of the liquor 
evil, and send these to as many temperance journals as 
could use them to the advantage of the work. 

He had an agreement with some of the great daily news- 
papers of New York, Chicago, and other cities to furnish 
occasional letters delineating the conditions and progress of 
the work in the various States he visited. 

No estimate can be formed of the aggregate amount of 
this kind of literary labor in the interest of prohibition 
which he performed, but from the little data at hand it 
would seem to have been surprisingly large. 

The following letter from Walter Thomas Mills, Secre- 
tary of the National Intercollegiate Prohibition Association, 
adds to the evidence of the earnest desire of Mr. Finch to 
push prohibition work along the broadest educational 
lines : 

M My first acquaintance with John B. Finch, other than a passing in- 
troduction, was when in 1884 I had been made the subject of a malicious 
arrest, because I had driven a midnight mob from my home. Promptly 
came from Finch to my wife the following : ' If Mr. Mills is indicted I 
will defend him before the court without money and without price.' 
The arrest came to nothing, but this note led to a fast personal friendship. 

" Again, when the college work in the interest of prohibition was 
placed in my hands, I found no more valued adviser or faithful helper 
than Mr. Finch. The plan of organization, the course of reading for 



348 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the American School of Politics, the series of contests, and the journal 
devoted to its interests were all subjects of frequent and helpful corre- 
spondence, or of personal consultation with him. His unselfish interest 
was well illustrated by a reply he made to a suggestion of mine—' No, 
don't put my name in your list of officers. Put the names of men widely 
known as educators to the front, but call on me for quiet help whenever 
there is need.' And he was as good as his word. At different times he 
divided responsibilities with me in the work amounting to several hun 
dred dollars. 

" Finch had the greatest hope for good results from the course of 
reading in politics. He was a thorough believer in the doctrine that to 
advance a reform you must train up reformers, especially from the ranks 
of educated young men." 

Dr. Abbie A. Hinkle comments on the thorough educa- 
tion of Mr. Finch in all matters pertaining to his work : 

" Our dear brother and worthy leader was a scholar in 
the broadest sense of the term. He stopped not at the sur- 
face, but penetrated into the depth of matters as time and 
circumstances would allow. He beautified and enriched his 
mind by a variety of useful information. 

" He acquired a general, practical knowledge of most of 
the sciences, including medicine. His knowledge of anat- 
omy, physiology, materia medica, and therapeutics proved 
happily useful in his valuable life-work in the temperance 
reform. 

" He had a strong memory, and gave himself up to large 
and laborious reading, realizing that one science assists 
another by illustration and proof. " 



CHAPTER XII. 

POLITICAL LEADERSHIP. 

A, nature wise 
With finding in itself the types of all — 
With watching from the dim verge of the time, 
What things to be are visible in the gleams 
Thrown forward on them from the luminous past — 
Wise with the history of its own frail heart, 
With reverence and with sorrow, and with love, 
Broad as the world, for freedom and for men. 

Lowell. 

Such souls, 

Whose sudden visitations daze the world, 

Vanish like lightning, but they leave behind 

A voice that in the distance far away 

Wakens the slumbering ages. 

Henry Taylor. 

A LTHOUGH lie was reared in a strongly Republican 
-£-*- family, Mr. Finch's earliest political predilections 
were for the Democratic Party, but his allegiance to that 
party was never very strong. 

In 1877 he was a regular delegate from Cortland County 
to the Prohibition Party State Convention which met at 
Utica, N. Y., August 15th. He was made chairman of 



350 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the Committee on Nominations, and took an active part in 
the deliberations of the convention. 

Later in the same month he was the leading spirit in the 
convention of the Prohibition Party in his own county, and 
often expressed his conviction of the hopelessness of relief 
from the evils of the rum-shop through old political organ- 
izations. 

Soon after his arrival in Nebraska the attention of the 
temperance world began to be concentrated on the consti- 
tutional amendment plan of securing prohibition through 
the old political parties. Misled by the hope that this new 
experiment would prove successful, he made no attempt to 
establish the Prohibition Party in that State. 

For three years after becoming a citizen of Nebraska, he 
proclaimed himself a Democrat, and voted that ticket 
whenever he was at home on election day. Although he 
took no very active part in politics, he became quite inti- 
mately acquainted with the Democratic leaders, who looked 
upon him as a rising young man and marked him for ad- 
vancement. It was intimated to him at different times that 
he might receive the nomination for important offices if he 
would indicate to Democratic managers his willingness to 
accept. This he never expressed nor felt. He far pre- 
ferred his independent position as a private citizen, to any 
honors that a political party or civil office could confer. 

In 1882, the fourth year of Mr. Finch's residence in 
Nebraska, the Democratic nominee for Governor was 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 351 

J. Sterling Morton, a gentleman with whom he was well 
acquainted and on most friendly terms. The Democratic 
platform had squarely declared against " sumptuary" laws. 
Mr. Morton in his speeches gave the usual interpretation 
to this " plank," that it meant " no prohibition, no sub- 
mission of prohibitory amendments." 

Mr. Morton made a speech in the city of Lincoln, early 
in the campaign, in which he savagely attacked the prin- 
ciple of prohibition and ridiculed its projectors and de- 
fenders. 

Mr. Finch at once wrote a challenge, which appeared in 
the daily papers the next morning, asking Mr. Morton to 
meet him in joint debate and defend the position he had 
assumed the previous evening, and declaring that such an 
attitude toward temperance legislation was un-Democratic 
and un-American. 

To this challenge Mr. Morton replied, through the press, 
declining to meet Mr. Finch, and offering the flimsy excuse 
that Democrats should only discuss the issues of the hour 
with Republicans, and not with members of their own 
party. 

Finding no opportunity was to be given him to meet the 
candidate in joint discussion, Mr. Finch ascertained the 
dates and places where Mr. Morton was to address the 
people, and made arrangements to follow immediately after 
him, and publicly expose the fallacies of his reasoning. 

As is usually the case, the wily politicians of the old 



352 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

political parties had nominated a few men on each ticket 
who might be deemed acceptable to the moral and temper- 
ance elements in their respective parties. 

The Democrats had in Mr. Morton a candidate for Gov- 
ernor of irreproachable character, who nevertheless was 
willing to prostitute his convictions to the furtherance of 
his political ambitions. As a sort of nice balance between 
decency and shameless submission to their rum rulers, they 
had nominated a most ardent and outspoken friend of pro- 
hibition for the office of Lieutenant-Governor. 

The Republicans nominated a man for Governor who 
was supposed to be friendly to measures for the submission 
of a prohibitory amendment, and whose profound silence 
concerning the question, before and after his nomination, 
left the public to believe whatever suited them best. To 
offset the effect of this nomination they selected as candi- 
date for Lieutenant-Governor an open and pronounced 
friend of the saloons. 

This was the last election at which Mr. Finch ever voted 
for any candidate of either the Republican or Democratic 
parties. He gave his ballot for the Republican candidate 
for Governor, the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant- 
Governor, and left the greater part of the remainder of the 
ticket blank. 

On his way to the polling-place he said to Mr. Sibley : 

" Frank, you were right in 1877. There is no hope for 
our cause from either of the old political parties. After 




NATIONAL PROHIBITION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 355 

this year I shall take up the Prohibition Party work, and 
we must push it as it has never been pushed before, till it 
wins ; and it will, it must win." 

Although he held no official position in the Prohibition 
Party, and probably had never thought of accepting any, 
he began early in 1884 to write long letters to personal 
friends throughout the Union, urging them to organize for 
the campaign. 

In the Pittsburg Convention he was a master spirit, and 
when the National Committee was formed, it seemed that 
every eye turned toward him as the man most fit for the 
leadership of the campaign and for chairman of the com- 
mittee. 

Professor A. A. Hopkins, who was associated with him 
on the National Executive Committee, gives his estimate 
of Mr. Finch as a political leader : 

' ' To the making of a successful politician there is essential a peculiar 
combination of qualities. Foresight, insight, will, tact, coolness, cour- 
age, good-fellowship, adaptiveness — these are some of the characteristics 
necessary if one would become a political leader, control his partisans, 
and win for the principle or the policy they espouse. All these qualities 
John B. Finch possessed, and some of them in a marked degree. His 
foresight was keen and far-reaching. He saw the vantage ground from 
a greater distance than those about him. He had the will to seize and 
occupy it, with sufficient tact and courage to accomplish the desired end. 

" Mr. Finch watched the movements of other parties with sagacious 
care. He did not believe in trusting all to Providence. He considered 
it his duty to know what opposing leaders were doing, what they were 
getting ready to do. He diligently studied their personality, sought reli- 



35G » THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

able knowledge of their places, kept open avenues of information in 
every way at his command. His good-fellowship aided him much in 
this regard. Leading Democrats and Republicans liked him, and often 
paid unconscious tribute to his companionable geniality through hints 
he swiftly caught and turned to quick account. He cultivated their 
acquaintance, while wearing an air of independent unconcern. He made 
them serve him often when they knew it not. 

"It was Mr. Finch's conviction that a new political party should as 
soon as possible make itself a felt factor in the political situation. A 
reformer, merely, with but the reformer's instincts and ambitions, would 
have builded for his reform's future without studying present effects. 
John B. Finch saw that prohibition's future must take shape much as 
determined by the results of contention to-day. He was a reformer, 
plus a politician. As a politician he pushed this reform with an eye 
fixed on the effects. He did it far-seeingly, effectively, but not cor- 
ruptly. That he rejoiced over Blaine's defeat in New York was no 
doubt a fact ; but not for the reason that Democracy had won. For the 
Democratic Party he had no care, except in turn to beat it, or assist in 
beating it, as the sworn supporter of the saloon. But to make itself felt, 
the young Prohibition Party must be instrumental in defeating some- 
thing, and the Bepublican Party stood fairly in its way. When beaten, 
that party vented its anger upon Governor St. John, and spent its vin- 
dictiveness upon Prohibitionists at large. Its entire course, for a year 
afterward, was such as to establish the Prohibition Party as a recognized 
factor in national politics, and to vindicate Mr. Finch's political sagac- 
ity. Had Mr. Blaine carried New York, prohibition would have been 
laughed at, as was the George movement after last year's election, and 
by no possibility could it have occupied public attention and com- 
manded public respect as it has for three years past. 

" It remains to be said that while Mr. Finch's opponents recognized 
and feared his abilities as a political leader, his own followers had con- 
fidence in these, and trusted to his leadership. His will, his tact, his 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 357 

courage, his companionship made powerful impression upon all. In all 
the States where our party is to-day the strongest, his counsel, his direc- 
tion, were most eagerly sought. He had a keen sense of political perspec- 
tive. He saw at a glance the relation of political things. Mentally alert, 
he could act with sure precision in an emergency. He had undoubting 
confidence in himself. If his insight were not equal to his foresight — 
and as to this I am not certain — his intuition, a twin quality, was rarely 
at fault, and uniformly served him well. He did not always care to ex- 
ercise the tact he had, but it seldom failed him when called actively into 
play. 

"As a political leader, Mr. Finch was barely becoming familiar with 
his own great resources, when he went down at the front. What he 
would have achieved, and how great our loss in losing him, speculation 
cannot make plain. He was ambitious for a great principle, ambitious 
to build a party which could and should establish that principle in gov- 
ernment. Toward this end he did much — more, it may be, than even 
we can measure who knew him best and stood closest by his side. 
That he would have done far greater things no man can doubt whose 
contact with him was that of trusting intimacy. He had all essential 
qualities ; if only he could have been granted another decade of oppor- 
tunity, how might his friends have marvelled and their foes have grown 
amazed !" 

Eugene EL. Clapp, of Boston, Most "Worthy Patriarch of 
the Sons of Temperance of North America, alludes to the 
Pittsburg Convention in the following tribute : 

" My intimate acquaintance with Hon. John B. Finch began before 
the Prohibition Convention at Pittsburg, in 1884. At that time we were 
thrown closely together on account of the similarity of our views in 
many matters which came before the convention. I recall distinctly 
the effort which was made to induce Governor St. John to accept the 



358 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 

nomination. Mr. Finch made confidants of myself and Brother Roberts 
of this city. Governor St. John had refused to accept the nomination, 
and if this fact had been known he could not have been nominated. 

" I can recall, as though it happened to-day, standing at the telegraph 
window and writing the telegrams which said to Governor St. John, ' We 
propose to use your name with or without your consent. ' I was very 
much struck with the persistency with which Mr. Finch pressed the 
nomination of Governor St. John. 

" The marked characteristic of Mr. Finch was his persistency and 
courage in carrying out a purpose which seemed to him right, and which 
would advance the interest of the cause to which he devoted his life. 

" About a year ago I invited him to take a sleigh ride on the Brighton 
Road. Most men would have given themselves up to the pleasure of the 
ride, dropping outside matters in the enjoyment of the hour. Not so 
with Mr. Finch. Nearly all the time while we were out he was impress- 
ing upon my mind the importance of the coming battles for constitu- 
tional prohibition in Michigan, Texas, West Virginia, and Oregon, ask- 
ing my ideas on the subject, to see what help I could give him in the 
different States. We planned to send five thousand copies of his 
speeches into Tennessee and Texas. He so interested me that it was 
with difficulty I controlled my horses. Yet even while discussing mat- 
ters of such moment, he would laugh heartily at some grotesque figure 
and sight, and within the moment pass to the consideration of questions 
connected with his life-work. 

" No one could associate with him without seeing his earnestness and 
devotion to his work. One of my last meetings with him was at Silver. 
Lake Camp-Meeting in 1887. I remember his look of surprise 
and his pleasant smile and hearty grasp of the hand as he met and 
greeted myself and wife. I recall the long conversation on the piazza in 
connection with matters where the two organizations over which we 
presided were brought into conflict, and some matters which were per- 
plexing both of us. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 359 

" I never knew a man who could laugh more heartily than he, and 
who seemed to enjoy the witticisms of other public speakers. At one 
meeting at Silver Lake Mr. Critchfield made a speech following that of 
Mr. Finch. The peculiar words and grotesque sayings of Mr. Critch- 
field convulsed Mr. Finch, and his hearty laughter could be heard all 
over the camp ground ; so magnetic was it that it seemed to lead the 
entire audience of five thousand people with him. I shall never forget 
the last grasp of his hand as he stepped into the car on leaving me at 
Silver Lake, and his earnest words in regard to the future. 

" His common method of greeting a friend was to take him by the 
arm and walk closely by his side, and bis magnetic pressure and pres- 
ence was indicative of his good-fellowship. In my home he was as free 
as though it was his own ; the children loved to welcome him, and, I 
think, felt that he was as dear as though attached to them by ties of 
blood. The kindliness of his nature, the warmth of his welcome, and 
the pleasantness of his words will never be forgotten by those who en- 
joyed his personal friendship. He was seldom discouraged by adverse 
circumstances. When I uttered words indicating that possibly I 
thought the fight was too great for us, he would tell me not to be dis- 
heartened. " 

In the campaign of 1884 Mr. Finch did double duty. 
He could not be spared from the platform, and his keen 
perceptions were constantly needed to shape the field work, 
so that he was compelled to make long journeys to New 
York or Chicago to look over correspondence and keep 
close watch of daily developments. 

By taking trains at the close of his lectures and riding at 
night he was able to travel long distances to headquarters, 
and after superintending the details of the campaign return 
to his field work with the loss of very little time. Several 



3G0 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

times after an evening speech he rode from some point in the 
western part of the State, to New York City, reaching there 
in the early morning, spending part of the day in consulta- 
tion with other members of the committee, and leaving in 
the afternoon in time to fill an appointment in another 
Htate. 

Handicapped by lack of funds, he was unable to carry 
into execution all the plans that suggested themselves to 
his busy brain, but he patiently and heroically pushed for- 
ward, making the most of the limited means and facilities 
at his disposal, and when the campaign closed he was sur- 
prised at the results. 

Immediately after the election he sent a telegram from 
New York to the Chicago Daily News, in which he said 
that the Prohibition Party had beaten the Republicans, 
and would now bend its efforts to the defeat of the Demo- 
cratic Party in 1888 or 1892. 

This telegram was widely copied, and aroused a furious 
storm of indignation among the leaders of the defeated 
party. A few Prohibitionists regretted the precipitation of 
the exasperating telegram at a time when the political pas- 
sions of men were at fever heat. 

The following letter, of date November 24th, in answer 
to a friend who had criticised him for sending the message, 
indicates his purpose in it, and the keen foresight which 
inspired it : 

" The Republicans are terribly mad, but their anger will 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 361 

cool when they realize that they could not win this time 
without us, and certainly cannot in 1888. 

" I disliked to send out the telegram, and yet it was 
necessary. If it had not been done they would have denied 
in less than two years that we were of any importance in 
settling the election. By provoking their attack on us now 
I have compelled them to admit and put on record that we 
are a political power. The only thing for us to do is to keep 
a i stiff upper lip ' and say : 'We offered you our votes at 
your Chicago Convention, but you would not take them. ' ' \ 

In November and December after the election, the Phila- 
delphia Press, followed by the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 
Iowa State .Register, and a host of smaller journals, more 
partisan than honest, assailed the prohibition candidate, 
Governor St. John, with a series of the most malignant 
slanders ever published against a public man. Governor 
St. John promptly denied every charge in the most sweep- 
ing and comprehensive terms, and challenged proof. The 
Republican newspapers in almost every instance refused to 
publish this denial, the papers originating the slander being 
foremost among the number declining to do justice. Clark- 
son, of the Republican National Committee, admitted that 
he desired to bribe St. John, and said to a reporter of the 
St. Louis Globe-Democrat : 

" " I had no doubt it would be right to defeat the Demo- 
cratic Party by the use of this false and treacherous means 
if it could be done." 



362 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Clarkson was finally forced, by the repeated denials of 
his slanders, to announce that Legate, of Kansas, was his 
only witness. 

On the publication of Legate's name in connection with 
the slanders, Mr. Finch telegraphed him, and upon receipt 
of his reply sent the following letter to the Voice : 

" Boston, Mass., January 19. 

"J. F. Legate has for years been one of the most prominent Repub- 
licans of Kansas, member of the Republican State Committee and of 
the Legislature. He is one of the best stump speakers in Kansas, and 
in this way was intimately associated with St. John. He now com- 
pletely vindicates St. John, and says he (Legate) was simply acting as 
the agent of the Republican National Committee, to bribe St. John. 
The press here having quoted him as saying he represented St. John 
and the Prohibition Committee in the bribery business, I wired him, 
and have just received this reply : 

" ' Leavenworth, Kan., January 18. 

" * I have never said any such thing to anybody, at any time, nor is 

there any truth in the assertion. 

"'James F. Legate.' 

" Clarkson, by introducing Legate, has convicted himself and the 
Republican National Committee of vile political corruption. Call for 
Clarkson's books now, and let the people know if he did buy any Pro- 
hibitionists, and what he paid for them. In this way we may possibly 
get an explanation of some of the letters written for Blaine during the 
last campaign. A viler plot to induce a man to betray his followers 
was never concocted by political rascals than this attempt to buy St. 
John, and now we want to know how much Clarkson did pay for those 
he induced to attempt to betray their friends. 

" We have the Republican National Committee convicted of an attempt 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 363 

to bribe, and we must now file a bill of discovery for all letters, tele- 
grams, receipts, and accounts of disbursements of the bribery depart- 
ment of the National Republican Committee. 

1 • John B. Finch, 
" Chairman Prohibition National Committee" 

The following day he sent an open letter to Clarkson, a 
copy of which appeared in the Chicago Daily News and 
many other newspapers : 

" Boston, Mass., January 20, 1885. 

" Clarkson, superintendent of the bribery department of the Repub- 
lican National Committee, having charged St. John with fraud, the evi- 
dence was demanded. He called his witness. The witness vindicated 
St. John. Clarkson now impeaches his own witness, and wants St. John 
to sue Clarkson for political libel in the Republican State of Iowa. He 
has evidently taken Blaine's opinion that a judgment cannot be recov- 
ered where party politics are involved, and so, instead of owning that 
he was played as a sucker by Legate, and that he lied about St. John, 
tries the game of bluff. By this he admits that he has no evidence to 
convict St. John, and wants St. John to help convict himself. With 
your permission I want to ask this head of the bribery department a few 
questions : 

" Is Legate the only witness you can produce against St. John? 

" Does Legate tell the truth when he says he was Clarkson' s agent ? 

* ' Legate being your witness, are you not either to take his testimony 
or stand branded as a man who introduced a liar to prove his case ? 

" Legate having vindicated St. John, are you not bound to take the 
testimony of your own witness, and as an honest man apologize ? 

" Have you or your friends a letter or telegram direct from St. John ? 

" Have you a letter or telegram that purports to be signed by him ? 

* ' When was this attempt to break down the Prohibition Party first 
discussed in your committee ? 



364 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" How much money was set aside for the purpose of bribing the pro- 
hibition leaders ? 

" What prohibition leader did you first attempt to reach ? 

' ' Will you publish your entire correspondence with different Prohibi- 
tionists ? 

" Will you give the public a detailed statement of the money spent by 
your committee ? 

" Does Mr. McCullagh tell the truth when he says you agreed to pay 
St. John $25,000 ? 

" Do you regard it an honorable thing to attempt to bribe a candidate 
to betray his followers ? 

" Would honorable men listen to the propositions of a traitor to be- 
tray honest men and women ? 

" Why did you consort with Legate ? 

" Did you intend to buy St. John if you could get him cheap enough ? 

" Is not a man who will listen to and help arrange a plot to bribe, as 
vile and mean as a man who accepts a bribe ? 

" Did you not know that you stated a falsehood when you said St. 
John left Ohio to keep his contract with you ? 

" Is not a man who will enter into a plot to bribe and then betray the 
confidential communications of his agent, as you did Legate's, a dishon- 
orable man ? 

" If placed on the National Committee in 1888, will you attempt to 
buy the prohibition candidate ? 

" Will you at once publish all evidence you have in this whole matter, 
with a detailed statement of the amount paid the ' New York Temper- 
aDce Assembly,' and those who wrote letters for Blaine ? 

"John B. Finch." 

To these sharp interrogations neither Clarkson nor his 
fellow-conspirators ever made reply, and the slander has 
since peacefully slumbered. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 365 

In the three active years that followed the election of 
1884 Mr. Finch participated in many State and local cam- 
paigns, and was the trusted counsellor and adviser of the 
Prohibition Party leaders in all parts of the Union. 

Fred. F. Wheeler, Chairman of the New York Prohibi- 
tion State Committee, expresses his opinion of the value of 
the services of Mr. Finch, and describes the ovation he re- 
ceived upon his appearance in the State Convention in 
August of 1887 * 

" In my judgment he was not only the ablest of the temperance ora- 
tors of this country, but by his speeches, oral and printed, he revolu- 
tionized the line of thought and argument of nearly all the others. 

" His ability as a political leader was never fairly tested, notwith- 
standing the fact that he achieved some notable and brilliant victories. 

" Could he have been Chairman of the National Committee when ours 
had become one of two leading parties, when quick planning and brill- 
iant execution on a large scale would be required, we should have seen 
what power he had. Could he have lived to be elected to Congress a 
few years hence, with a fair number of fellow Congressmen of his 
political faith as co-workers, he would have distinguished himself as a 
statesman. 

" At our State Convention held in Syracuse August 27th, 1887, he 
was honored as no other man has ever been in a similar body. Alhambra 
Hall was packed with a body of intelligent people. The conscientious, 
thinking representatives of the thirty-six thousand Prohibitionists of 
the Empire State and many of the best citizens of Syracuse were there. 
The Poughkeepsie Brass Band, composed entirely of Prohibitionists, 
had played several popular airs. The Silver Lake Quartet sang some of 
their soul-stirring songs, which aroused the interest and enthusiasm of 
the vast audience to a wonderful degree. After prayer the chairman, in 



S66 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

a few appropriate remarks, introduced ' Our National Leader, John B. 
Finch. ' Instantly the applause broke forth, and as Mr. Finch came for- 
ward it grew louder and louder. Ladies' handkerchiefs fluttered in the 
air, the vast audience arose as one man, while hats, umbrellas, parasols, 
and handkerchiefs were waving vigorously, and the band played 4 See, the 
conquering hero comes.' As the band concluded the applause subsided. 

" During this excitement, which stirred and thrilled all who witnessed 
it, Mr. Finch stood motionless in that familiar attitude with his hand 
resting on his chin and head bowed low. 

"As the applause subsided and he remained motionless a moment, 
some one called out, ' What' s the matter with Finch ? ' and a chorus of 
a thousand voices responded lustily, ' He's all eight.' Then came a 
new outburst of applause, nearly as long and as hearty as the preceding 
hurricane had been. He began his speech slowly, and in a low tone 
said he had just come from the Pennsylvania State Convention, and was 
exceedingly tired. He did not warm up to his work as quickly as usual, 
and some who had heard him often, were fearful, knowing he was 
overworking ; but after a half hour he began to launch forth those 
ponderous arguments in thunderous tones, with those powerful gestures 
that his superb physical development enabled him to make, and we 
realized that ' Finch was himself once more.' October 5th I received 
a letter from him, which had been delayed en route, in which he said : 
' I will rest on the 15th and 16th.' Little did he think when he penned 
those words that when those dates arrived he would have gone to * that 
bourn from whence no traveller returns.' His death but increases the 
duties of those who are left. I freely confess that I have done and shall 
do my humble part with more intelligence and greater zeal than if I had 
never known John B. Finch." 

From the large number of tributes to his merit as a party 
leader, a few only can be given, but these reflect the senti- 
ment of hundreds of others : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 367 

" John B. Finch was the leader of the prohibition army in its war 
against the ruin power of this nation. He was the right man in the 
right place, a profound reasoner, an eloquent speaker, and a consum- 
mate organizer. The astonishing progress that has been made in the 
cause of prohibition is greatly due to his industry, energy, and talents. 
His name will be embalmed in the history of his country with that of 
Lincoln and others like him."— Hon. James Baker , ex- Chief Justice of 
Missouri. 

" If we did not believe in Providence, and that the Prohibition Party 
is under the special care and guidance of God, in whose name its banner' 
has been unfurled, we should be greatly discouraged by Mr. Finch's 
death. But He who has called this brilliant commander from the field 
of battle to receive the crown of victory will not fail to provide a sub- 
stitute qualified to fill the vacant place." — New York Weekly Witness. 

" I regard John B. Finch, our beloved Prohibition Party leader and 
my dear personal friend, as the best equipped, bravest, most skilful 
and successful advocate of prohibition, the cause has ever had in this or 
any other country. He combined in a very remarkable manner, fault- 
less, irresistible logic, with the most persuasive and convincing elo- 
quence. He made more converts to the Prohibition Party by his mas- 
terly addresses than any other one has done who has risen up among us. 
A recent illustration of his wonderful power was seen in the great suc- 
cess of his efforts at our prohibition camp-meeting in 1887 at Glyndon 
Park. 

1 ' With rare endowments of mind, he very happily combined the most 
tender, generous, and noble impulses of heart. Socially, he was one of 
the most *easy, affable, and genial companions. He seemed naturally to 
attract and attach people to him. To know him was to love him. 

" He had a keen insight into human nature, and was a born leader. 
Take him, all in all, I fear we shall never see his like again." — Eon. 
William Daniel, Baltimore, Md. 



368 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

'■'. I considered John B. Finch to be a man of superior intellect and 
most conscientious devotion to duty. His last engagements of four 
nights were made for him by me, when he was weary and needed rest ; 
but he came to fill them, and while he was thus seeking to do his work 
and save the people from disappointment, he was suddenly called home. 
The temperance people of Massachusetts knew him well, esteemed him 
highly, and none could feel his loss more keenly." — Frank P. Dyer, 
Secretary Massachusetts Prohibition Stale Committee. 

" By universal consent John B. Finch was a great leader of men. He 
came into the first place among the goodly company of temperance re- 
formers, as "Washington came into command of the Continental Army, by 
magnificent fitness. Elevated and steady in his purposes, of broad 
sympathies and keen insight into the causes of events, he everywhere 
won hearts to his cause and commanded the respect of those within the 
circle of his influence, whether they agreed with him or not. 

The loss of such a man at such a time is one of those inscrutible 
Providences which another world must unfold to our understanding." — 
J. B. Gambrell, Editor of the Sword and Shield, Jackson, Miss. 

" He was the greatest man in his chosen field in the world. As leader 
of the Prohibition Party, he proved himself not only a statesman, but 
a politician of the very highest order of ability. He was brave, fearless, 
honest, and true, and had no superior as a statesman in this country. 
Noble, generous, pure — a Christian and a nobleman — the name of John 
B. Finch will live as long as there are patriots to commemorate in song 
and story the grand achievements and noble deeds of the century's 
greatest hero." — J. B. Granfill, Editor of Waco (Texas) Advance. 

" Mr. Finch was strong, yet tender ; bold, but sympathetic ; logical, 
at the same time sweet. Honest in every fibre, he hated hypocrisy and 
shuffling. Knowing well the corruption and the corrupter of our poli- 
tics, he knew also the elements of complete purification. Remembering 
that character is the development pf principles, he labored eloquently 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 369 

to sow the seeds of a better harvest. Rightly judging this generation, 
he wanted to improve the next. " — Rev. A. A. Miner, Boston, Mass. 

" He was born to lead, and could not bear the thought of lagging. 
His influence will prove a lasting power for good in the cause he so 
nobly represented. His clear perception of the political rights and 
duties of the citizen, as brought out in his lectures and writings, has had 
and will ever have a far-reaching influence upon American thought and 
action. The name of John B. Finch will yet stand out as one of the 
brightest and best in American history." — Allen B. Lincoln, Editor of 
Connecticut Home. 

The following letters and paragraphs from men and 
newspapers bitterly hostile, politically, to Mr. Finch show 
the impress of his genius upon his adversaries. George 
Hoadly writes : 

" I was introduced to John B. Finch when I was Governor of Ohio, 
and a candidate for re-election. Mr. Finch was on the stump for the 
prohibition cause, to which I was earnestly opposed. I saw but little of 
him, but the little that I did see, and the much that I heard, gave me a 
very exalted opinion of his high and noble character. His ambition was 
lofty, and his spirit was large and generous. I entirely disagreed with 
him in opinion. I did not believe the method in which he sought to 
treat the subject of temperance to be the true method. I believe in the 
utility of fermented vinous and spirituous liquors as beverages when 
taken in moderation, and that the world would be much worse off if 
prohibition could succeed. Therefore I was the enemy of his opinions, 
and met him as such ; but I was attracted to him by finding that we had 
common sentiments on other subjects, and that the object and end and 
aim of his life was one in which I was in thorough sympathy — the eleva- 
tion of the down-trodden and oppressed, the reform of the degraded, 



370 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 

and the assistance of all to better self-control. He sought the result in 
a way which did not seem to me wise or practicable, but he sought it by 
noble, open, and persuasive methods, such as compelled the respect of 
those who, like myself, differed from him. 

" I looked forward to very great success to be achieved by him, for I 
have felt certain for years that the Kepublican Party has outlived its 
usefulness, and that the Prohibition Party would take its place, and that 
Mr. Finch had earned the place of leader of this great movement." 

* The Journal, of Syracuse, Neb., says : 

" The news of the sudden death of Hon. John B. Finch came like a 
clap of thunder out of a clear sky to the people of Nebraska ; for what- 
ever were the feelings of hostility toward him as a political agitator, he 
was universally respected as a man, and his superior ability as an orator 
and organizer was freely conceded. 

" Disagreeing with him in many things, we still admire his genius, his 
indomitable perseverance, restless energy, and wonderful organizing 
abilities. In the political arena we recognized him as a knightly f oeman 
worthy the most highly tempered steel." 

George C. King, publisher of the Perry (N. Y.) Herald, 
writes to the Voice : 

11 Though of different political faith from the late John B. Finch, I am 
one of the many in this section who were deeply shocked at the news of 
his sudden death, and I cannot forbear offering a word of tribute to one 
whom I deemed a very high type of manliness and public ability. His 
face and speech were familiar to the audiences that have met year by 
year at the Silver Lake Assembly, near this place ; and though in this 
Bepublican stronghold he drew upon himself a storm of hostile com- 
ment by his bold and caustic arraignment of the old parties, yet he was 
always sure of plenty of listeners and of a respectful hearing on the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 371 

part of the more thoughtful. With me, I confess, it was a case of ' al- 
most thou persuadest.' His image is indelibly stamped in the memory — 

" ' An eye of light, a forehead pure and free ; 

Strength as of streams, and grace as of the wave.' 

Such a commanding personality, such superb power, can it be that they 
are stricken out?" 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HOME LIFE. 

The best portion of a good man's life, 

His little, nameless, unremembered acts 

Of kindness and of love. 

Wordsworth. 

MR. FINCH loved home. In his frequent long ab- 
sences he was constantly " counting the days" that 
must elapse ere his return. The desire for home life grew 
stronger each year. The praise of the multitude, the 
tender kindness of friends everywhere manifest, comforting 
though it was, never filled his heart with that supreme con- 
tent that he gathered from the few days at home. 

The first housekeeping began in the spring of 1879, in 
Lincoln, Neb. In all the details of the household labor he 
took the keenest interest, and most cheerfully gave his aid. 
He never held the false notion that " woman's sphere" is 
domestic drudgery and that a man must not share this toil, 
but must devote himself wholly to other departments of 
work. 

When Mrs. Finch had household tasks to perform he 
insisted upon relieving her of the more burdensome. On 
one occasion, when Mrs. Finch had no " help," he returned 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 373 

home and found her engaged with the weekly " washing." 
He knew that she was not well when he left home, and 
feared the results of such severe work. Instantly taking 
off his coat and cuffs, he said gently : 

" Puss, you must not do that. I will finish the wash- 
ing. 

He applied himself to the work, and after completing it 
hung the clean garments on the line and put the wash- 
room in order. 

His mechanical ingenuity was great. He thoroughly 
understood the construction of all kinds of machinery, from 
an egg-beater to a locomotive. Whenever the sewing- 
machine, or any other household implement was broken he 
would repair it with little expenditure of time or trouble. 

Whenever Mrs. Finch was without a servant, he swept 
the floors and dusted, brought water, kindled fires, carried 
out ashes, replenished the coal-box, and gave aid in all the 
housework. This was the practice of his whole life. He 
had helped his mother in the same way during Ins boyhood. 

Of his mother he wrote in his diary, April 21st, 1881, 
the single mournful line : " Mother died. She made me 
all I am." 

Soon after he rented his first house and began to realize 
the meaning of a " home of his own," he came in contact 
with a wild and reckless young man, about whom the father 
and mother were constantly filled with the keenest anxiety. 
Mr. Finch took the young man to his home and out into 



374 THE LIFE OF' JOHN B. FINCH. 

the field where lie was lecturing, employing him in selling 
temperance books and circulating temperance newspapers, 
hoping to influence him to sobriety and honesty. He con- 
tinued caring for the young man for some months, never 
afterward losing sight of or interest in him. The boy in 
time became a sober, industrious business man. 

A source of great enjoyment to him in his home was the 
entertainment of friends. His cordial invitations to his 
intimate acquaintances to come to his house and spend a 
day or a week with him, were always heartfelt. 

Mr. Finch loved all children. He could enter most 
heartily into their sports, and appreciated with warmest 
sympathy all their joys and sorrows. For the homeless 
ones he felt the tenderest compassion, and in his great, 
warm heart there was room for every one left desolate. 

Sometimes he would return to his home and say to Mrs. 
Finch : 

" I saw a child to-day that I would like to adopt." 

He loved to talk to children, and he never failed to catch 
their attention and arouse their interest. He talked about 
the little world in which their lives revolved, and they 
entered into conversation with him with all the easy fa- 
miliarity of old acquaintance. 

In November, 1879, a new attraction came to his home 
life. . Little John D. Finch was born on the twenty-first 
day of that month. When the little son was presented to 
him he took him in his arms, and looking proudly into the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 375 

face of his wife he exclaimed : " I am the happiest man in 
Lincoln. ' ' From the hour of his birth the boy was a source 
of never-failing delight and pride to the fond father. 

" Ah ! what would the world be to us 
If the children were no more ? 
We should dread the desert behind us 
Worse than the dark before. 

" For what are all our contrivings, 
And the wisdom of our books, 
When compared with your caresses, 
And the gladness of your looks ? 

" Ye are better than all the ballads 
That ever were sung or said ; 
For ye are living poems, 
And all the rest are dead. " 

When " the baby," as his papa always called him, was 
only five weeks old, Mr. Finch said to the mother : 

" You must get into the fresh air. Go out for a walk 
while I take care of ' baby.' " 

Mrs. Finch would not have left the child alone with a 
nurse, but feeling perfectly secure in putting him in the 
hands of Mr. Finch, she began taking daily exercise. One 
evening he suggested that his wife should go to an enter- 
tainment. She objected, but he insisted, and she went. 
On her return late in the evening she found him walking 
the floor to quiet the baby, and laughing as though it had 
been a pleasant joke. 



376 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Mrs. Finch had always been identified with the move- 
ment for woman suffrage in Nebraska, and was a member 
of the Executive Committee of the State Suffrage Associa- 
tion. When " little John" was two years old the annual 
State Suffrage Convention was held in Kearney. Mrs. 
Finch desired to attend, but felt unable to go away from 
home for three days and take her " baby." 

Learning of this from some remark of hers, Mr. Finch 
said : 

" I can be at home during the session of your conven- 
tion. You go, and I will gladly stay at home with the 
boy." 

The arrangement was accordingly made, and Mrs. Finch 
attended the convention. On her return he met her at the 
railroad station with the boy in his arms, and laughingly 
told an acquaintance, as she stepped from the train, that 
his wife was just returning from a woman suffrage conven- 
tion and he had been staying at home for three days to 
take care of the baby. 

"Whenever he was obliged to be absent on long lecture 
tours, he was always greatly concerned for the welfare of 
the family at home, and repeatedly urged his wife to invite 
a favorite aunt to live with her for a companion. 

Home was never forgotten in the hurry and care of his 
many journeys. Whenever he found a new, interesting, 
and valuable book he bought and sent it home to Mrs. 
Finch. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 377 

He loved beautiful things, and his artistic eye culled the 
best. He sent many pictures to wife and boy, the last one 
to Mrs. Finch, the etching " La Source." 

On his return home he would open his valise and say to 
his dear ones as he handed them some present or souvenir, 
" I thought you would like this." 

When Mrs. Finch accompanied him in his long journeys 
he always made an effort to reach all points of interest on 
the way, visiting famous resorts and viewing fine scenery, 
delighting in his wife's appreciation of the beauties of 
nature that he loved so well. 

He had several urgent requests to visit England, Africa, 
and Australia in the interest of the work, but never was 
willing to go without Mrs. Finch and " the baby," whose 
care he loved to share with the mother. 

One night he gave an address to a great audience in 
Richmond, Ya. Mrs. Finch was to follow with a reading. 
She said to him : " I cannot take care of John while I go 
upon the platform." Mr. Finch said : "I will take him 
to our room." To do this it was necessary to take the 
sleeping boy in his arms and carry him down the crowded 
aisle to the door. As he threaded his way through the 
crowd a tumultuous cheer rose from the assembled multi- 
tude. 

Mr. Finch never wore ornaments, though he often re- 
ceived presents of valuable jewels, and sometimes purchased 
jewelry for his wife. He sent her a brooch from Boston 



378 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

at one time when too busy to write a long letter, engraved 
with the single word " Mizpah." This talisman Mrs. 
Finch has greatly prized because of the mystic significance : 
' ' The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent 
one from another." 

Miss Gertrude Cushman, Past Right Grand Worthy 
Superintendent of Juvenile Temples, paints the following 
pleasant picture of the home life of Mr. Finch as she saw 
it: 

" Of the few days it was his privilege to spend with those he loved, 
every moment that was not devoted to the ' world's work ' was spent 
caring for the lawns, garden vases, and the thousand and one things 
that love always prompts the hand to do ; not alone to outside things, 
but he gave the finishing stroke to fall house-cleaning, beating rugs, etc. 

" After a busy day at the desk, our handsome leader, the boy John, 
and the dog Tasso, with much laughter and frolic placed a rug upon the 
line for cleaning. 

"I can never forget the beautiful picture of the autumnal sun deep- 
ening the grass-plot into the loveliest emerald green, the happy face of 
the father, the sparkling eyes of the son, the silken Newfoundland, the 
soft coloring of the Persian rug harmonizing with all. 

" A little apart from the others, the wife and mother standing with a 
smile of love beaming from every feature. 

" The first stroke is given and the line breaks, which causes fresh 
bursts of laughter from all. The rug is raised, and again the line breaks. 
The disaster is treated as the greatest joke imaginable. A third time 
the rug is hung, and again the line breaks. Not a cloud flits over the 
sunny face of the husband and 'father, but with the smile we all so well 
remember hovering around his mouth, he says : ' Puss, isn't this too 
much for flesh and blood to bear ? ' 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 379 

" The good wife enters the house, returning with a stronger line, and 
the work is completed. 

" This is a living exemplification of patience. 

" The evening meal is eaten, spiced with repartee, and the twi- 
light hour is spent in entertaining conversation led by the genial 
host. 

" The miniature John asks for a story, which is told ; a romp follows, 
until he is carried away on his father's shoulder, and we hear the softly 
breathed ' Now I lay me, ' and see this strong man carefully lift the little 
white-robed figure in his arms and place him on his couch. He pauses 
a moment, with all the love and tenderness of a mother illuminating his 
face. 

" Never was paternal love more developed or more rounded out. 

" Never, in his grandest achievements upon the platform, was our 
leader and chieftain so marvellously grand as in the performance of 
these little duties too sacred to be entrusted to hireling hands. Always 
happy, and never more so than when rendering service to make others 
equally happy, it can truly be said he was 

" ' A man who dared to think, to live, 

To act true to his soul's divinest light, 
And to the world impulses give 
For truth and right.' " 

At one time when Mr. Fincli expected to spend Sunday 
in Detroit, and had not time to reach home and return to 
his appointment, he wrote Mrs. Finch to come to that city 
to meet him, and was much disappointed at not finding her 
there. On his return home he asked the reason, and when 
informed that she had used the money that the trip would 
have cost in temperance work for Chicago he was satisfied, 
and praised the self-denial. 



380 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

In his diaries there is always an entry at some time in 
December : " Purchased Christmas presents for loved ones 
at home." 

One Christmas he gave Mrs. Finch a fine set of Dickens's 
works ; on another an elegantly bound and illustrated 
Longfellow. Books were his favorite gifts. In September 
of 1887, as though in preparation for his absence at the 
coming Yule-tide, he sent Mrs. Finch her present, a beauti- 
ful white plush album of Christmas cards. 

After his purchase of an unimproved half section of 
Nebraska land, he became much interested in developing it. 
He employed a farmer who owned land adjoining to plough 
and put a portion of the farm in cultivation. He bought 
tree seed and sent it to him for planting, had hedges and 
fruit-trees set out, fences built, and other improvements 
made. He said concerning " the farm :" "If I break 
down in my work and lose my health, I can go to work on 
the farm and recover my strength, and I want to improve 
it so as to make it home-like.' ' 

After purchasing the home in Evanston he seemed even 
more interested in adorning and beautifying it than he had 
in the farm. On his " rest days" he would often work for 
hours improving the lawns, clearing away leaves, or attend- 
ing to flowers. In dry summer weather he kept the grass 
sprinkled, so that it remained as green as in spring-time 
throughout the whole season. When he had not time to 
attend to the details of this work he employed a man to do 




— _d 



THE HOME AT EYAXSTOX, ILL. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 383 

it, but whenever possible he greatly preferred to perform 
the labor. 

On leaving home he always said to Mrs. Finch, " Take 
good care of the lawn and the flowers." 

" Little John" was a source of infinite delight to his 
father. He was never cross or impatient with the boy, and 
was always ready to take him on his journeys whenever it 
was practicable. The attachment between father and son 
was mutual. The boy idolized his father. 

As the child was necessarily much alone, having no 
brother or sister for a playmate, his father thought a large 
dog would be a pleasing companion. He accordingly pur- 
chased in New York a thoroughbred Newfoundland puppy, 
and brought him home in a basket. Little John had been 
promised this present, and when his father took the dog 
from the basket, the lad looked at the animal for a long 
time, and finally looking up into his father's face, said very 
soberly: " He'll do." 

While the family were all absent from home for a few 
days the following summer, the dog was shot. On his re- 
turn Mr. Finch treated the wounded dog and entirely cured 
him. During another absence the dog was poisoned. The 
child was very much grieved, and his father helped him to 
bury his canine friend, and comforted him as no one else 
could have done. 

Mr. Finch loved to tell of the pranks of his boy, and of 
his bright acts and sayings. 



384 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

The boy's memory of localities was excellent. When 
only four years old he was absent from home with his 
mother for three months. Upon their return to Lincoln, 
he ran ahead of his parents and found his own home, though 
it was in the centre of a row of houses built exactly alike. 

Travelling with his father and mother through different 
cities, he always remembered the locations of the hotels, 
and never was lost when alone in the streets. 

When John was a little more than five years old his 
mother employed a servant girl, who became ill with a 
headache, and went home on the same day she commenced 
work. Mrs. Finch was very weary and sat down, saying : 

" John, your mamma is very tired, and must rest. I 
ought to have a girl to help me. ' ' 

John had sometime passed an intelligence office, and 
some one had explained the business to him. While his 
mother rested, he started for an office, and said to the agent 
in charge : 

" My name is John Finch. My mamma wants a good 
girl right away, one that don't have headache." 

As a result of this order, Mrs. Finch soon secured an ex- 
cellent servant, who remained with her for more than two 
years. 

Little John has a very observing and inquiring mind. 
He asks about the things he does not understand, and in- 
sists upon a full explanation. His father bad always taken 
delight in gratifying his curiosity to the fullest extent. 





J/#^ <?0~ 2% ' <**iscJ£* 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 387 

No doubt lie had sometime explained to the child the sad 
cause — the loss of parents — which often sends the newsboys 
on the street to earn their living. 

Upon the receipt of the news that his father was no more, 
which was told him by a boy on the street, little John was 
completely stunned, and could scarcely stand ; recovering 
himself he went bravely on to school, where he remained 
till sent for by his mother, when he hurried home, and rush- 
ing to his mother's room, exclaimed : 

" My papa is dead, and I've got to sell papers now." 

The next day he gathered a quantity of old fruit baskets 
that had accumulated in the basement during the summer, 
and sold them on the street, bringing the money received 
for them to his mother, with the words : 

" See here, ma, I have got fifteen cents." 
"Where did you get it ?" asked his mother. 
I got all those old peach baskets and took them around 
to the grocery stores and sold them. We didn't want them 
any more." 

" Now, John," said Mrs. Finch, " I do not like that. 
Do not do anything of the kind again." 

The child looked troubled by this reply, and said in justi- 
fication of his business transactions : 

• ' "Well, mamma, I knew I'd got to do something to earn 
money to take care of you." 

One night while Mr. Finch's body was lying in the 
house, John said to Mrs. Sibley : 






388 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" That ain't my father down there in the casket." 

" No," was the answer ; " that is only what was earthly 
of your father." 

" Does anybody know anything about heaven ?" was the 
next question. 

" Yes, we know what the Bible tells us." 

" How do we know God wrote the Bible ?" 

After Mrs. Sibley had explained the inspiration of the 
Scriptures, with which he was familiar, he said : " Yes, I 
know all about that," and continued, " My father was a 
great man, wasn't he ?" 

"Yes." 

" Do you suppose I'll ever be as great a man as my father 
was?" 

" I hope so, John," answered Mrs. Sibley. 

"I don't know yet what I'll do when I get to be a 
man," continued the boy. " Do you suppose my father 
will tell me what to do from heaven ? Mamma thinks he 
will. I've got to do something to earn money, and I've 
got to decide pretty quick what I shall do when I am a 
man." 

Owing to the utter prostration of Mrs. Finch, it was 
necessary for every person in attendance to refrain from 
any manifestation of the all-pervading grief. Without 
being warned by any one, little John restrained all his feel- 
ings while in the presence of his mother. One day he said 
to Mr. Sibley : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 389 

" I have to cry sometimes. 1 can't help it, but I don't 
let mamma see me, because I have to be careful of her ; she 
can't stand it." 

No doubt the father and husband, from beyond the 
bounds of mortality, is watching tenderly over wife and 
child, and would whisper to their souls : 

" Weep not for me ; 
Be blithe as wont, nor tinge with gloom 
The stream of love that circles home, 

Light hearts and free ! 
Joy in the gifts Heaven's bounty lends, 
Nor miss my face, dear friends ! 

" I still am near ; 
Watching the smiles I prized on earth, 
Your converse mild, your blameless mirth ; 

Now, too, T hear 
Of whispered sounds the tale complete, 
Low prayers and musings sweet." 

Mrs. Finch began very early to read Bible lessons to her 
child. He became much interested, and desired to read 
them for himself, liking the Psalms so well that he asked 
his mother in November, after the loss of his father, to buy 
him a separate volume of the songs of David. As he 
seemed so much in earnest, she decided to give him the 
book with his Christmas presents, but said nothing to him. 
Receiving no definite reply to his repeated requests, and 
having no spending money of his own at that time, the boy 



390 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

thought he must secure the coveted volume by his own ex- 
ertions. Accordingly, he made a wager with a boy who 
owned a book of Psalms, to run a race with him for the 
book. He won the race, and triumphantly marched home 
with his prize. His mother induced him to return it, and 
on Christmas he received the much-desired volume. 

Mrs. Finch was reared in a Universalist family. At 
eighteen she became interested in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, with which she afterward united. 

Mr. Finch always attended the same church with his wife 
from a natural preference, but he did not unite with the 
church until February 9th, 1886, soon after his removal to 
Evanston. 

His whole public work was full of practical piety, but he 

detested pretence and sham. He never made any display 

of his professions, but quietly observed the duties of a 

Christian life. 

" In such righteousness, 
To them by faith imputed, they may find 
Justification toward God, and peace 
Of conscience." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

INCIDENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 

God measures souls by their capacity 
For entertaining His best angel, Love ; 
Who loveth most is nearest kin to God, 
Who is all love, or nothing. 

He who sits 
And looks out on the palpitating world, 
And feels his heart swell in him large enough 
To hold all heaven within it, he is near 
His great Creator's standard. 

What God wants of us 
Is that outstretching bigness that ignores 
All littleness of aims, or loves, or creeds, 
And clasps all earth and heaven in its embrace. 

Mia Wheeler. 

FN the life of every man there are many minor events, 
-*- bearing no intimate relation to the stronger currents of 
his existence, and yet making vivid impressions on the 
minds of observers. The memory of such events often 
outlives the recollection of date, or place, or surrounding 
circumstances, but marks no less indelibly the traits of 
character that they betray. 

Friends linger lovingly over such remembrances and 



392 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

never weary of repeating the story of these seemingly tri- 
fling occurrences in the life of Mr. Finch. 

His impulsive benevolence was well known, though never 
ostentatiously displayed. He could not endure to look upon 
suffering or want, poverty or privation, without lifting his 
hand to help or relieve. The sorrows of " the babies," as 
he always called children, touched the tenderest chords of 
his warm, sympathetic heart. 

One frosty morning after he had bought a paper of a bare- 
foot newsboy, he asked him : " Haven't you any shoes 
and stockings ?" 

The little lip quivered, as he answered, " Ho, sir." 

" Why don't your papa buy you some ?" asked Mr. 
Finch. 

" I hain't got no papa," was the mournful answer. 

" Well, come with me, then," and he led the boy to the 
nearest shoe-store, and purchased shoes and stockings for 
him to his great delight and wonder. 

No man could have felt greater indifference for the mere 
forms and fashions of social life, or could have manifested 
a greater disregard for the lines of caste dividing the poor 
from the rich, and the proud from the lowly ones of earth. 
He always boarded at the best hotel in any city he visited, 
not because of pride or selfish love of luxury, but because 
he worked hard and needed every possible comfort. 

How little he cared for the aristocratic associations of the 
place was shown by a circumstance that happened at a 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 393 

fashionable hotel where he was well known, and had often 
spent an occasional day or week in his journeyings for 
several years. 

Arriving in the city one forenoon he set out for the 
hotel, only a few blocks away, on foot, carrying his heavy 
valise in his hand. A tiny little lad accosted him : 

" Carry your satchel, sir ? Carry it for a dime." 

Looking down at the mite of humanity and at the big 
valise, he laughed in his light, cheery way, and answered : 

" You couldn't carry one side of it." 

" Oh, yes ; I do carry 'em. Won't you let me carry it ?" 

" No, I'll give you the dime, and carry it myself," and 
he handed the boy the money, expecting to see him scamper 
off. But the boy was bound to earn the money, and per- 
sisted : 

" Sha'n't I carry it a little ways ?" 

" Yes, you take hold of the strap at one end and I'll take 
the other, and we will carry it together," assented Mr. 
Finch, and the diminutive, ragged, dirty-faced lad trotted 
along beside him, answering his questions and apparently 
glad to be able to earn his money rather than accept it as 
a gift. 

" What made you so anxious to earn that dime ?" asked 
Mr. Finch. 

u 'Cause I ain't no beggar, and I hain't had no break- 
fast." 

The sturdy independence and manliness, so unlike many 



394 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

of the street boys of the great cities, completely won Mr. 
Finch. He determined to give the boy and some other 
people a genuine surprise. It was near noon as he walked 
down the marble floor of the corridor toward the clerk's 
desk and registered, " John B. Finch and a friend," re- 
questing to be shown at once to his room, saying to the lad, 
" Come with me." 

In his room he told the boy to wash and comb his hair, 
that he might be ready for dinner. At the door a friend 
shook him by the hand, but remonstrated against the ragged 
boy in the elegant dining-room. The head waiter attempt- 
ed to turn the lad back, but Mr. Finch said sternly, ' i He 
is my guest," and marched as proudly down the long 
room as though a prince were by his side. Every eye 
was turned upon him, some in scorn, some in wrath, 
and others with a merry twinkle, but he paid no heed, 
except to nod cheerily as he recognized a friend. He en- 
joyed the wild-eyed wonder of the boy as he partook of a 
more sumptuous meal than he had ever dreamed of, and 
laughed heartily at the waiter's frown as he chatted with his 
queer guest till the meal was finished, and the child returned 
to earth from his visit to fairyland. 

At another time, accompanied by a friend, he was climb- 
ing one of the hillside streets of Kansas City. It was mid- 
winter, and a fierce wind was blowing, penetrating to the 
bone. Turning a corner, a newsboy confronted them — 
" Times f Journal ? morning paper ?" 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 395 

He was one of the most pitiable specimens of humanity 
ever seen. Old gunny sacks were tied round his feet, and 
the thin rags covering his body fluttering in the wind, re- 
vealed here and there the naked flesh benumbed with cold. 

" "Why don't you go home ?" asked Mr. Finch. 

" Ain't got none." 

" Where do you sleep at night ?" 

" Down in a shed side of the b'iler-room of factory. " 

" Where are your father and mother ?" 

" Mam's dead, dad's drunk most of the time." 

" If you had some clothes would he take them away from 
you and pawn them for whiskey V ' 

Betcher life he wouldn't git no chance." 
Come with me, then." 

Mr. Finch and his friend, accompanied by the boy, made 
their way to the nearest clothing-store, where he purchased 
a full suit for the boy, including stockings, shoes, cap, 
undershirts, and overcoat. 

In relating the incident, the friend said : " As long as 
we were in sight of him after we left the store, that boy 
was standing still gazing after us, as though he expected us 
to return and take away all that had been given him. ' ' 

On one occasion Mr. Finch found a woman in tears 
pleading with a merchant for assistance to get to her friends 
in the East, saying if she could reach home she could take 
care of herself. She was the wife of a clergyman — former 
pastor of the church to which the merchant belonged. Her 






396 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

husband's health failed, and they had exhausted their small 
means to pay his expenses at health resorts in hopes of re- 
covery, hence her present distress. Mr. Finch had never 
met the lady before, but hearing her name spoken by the 
merchant comprehended the situation, and remembered, 
perhaps, an encouraging word spoken to him by her hus- 
band. After she had been refused the aid she sought from 
the merchant, Mr. Finch purchased for her a ticket, and 
gave her pocket money to make her comfortable on the 
journey. This was not done without inconvenience and 
sacrifice on his part, for only a day or two after he was 
compelled to borrow money to enable him to reach an ap- 
pointment. 

George R. Scott thus describes an incident which occurred 
in Cleveland, O. : 

" Mr. Finch was generous to a fault. His fingers were 
always engaged in opening his pocketbook. While stand- 
ing with him in Lake Side Park looking at the waters of 
Lake Erie, a poor woman, covered with dirt and filled with 
whiskey, stepped up and asked us to help her to reach her 
daughter's home in the city of Detroit. He looked at her, 
and with a sweet smile said : ' Old lady, would you really 
like to go home and try and do better ? ' ' God bless you, 
sir, indade I would ! ' Taking me aside, he said : ' I feel 
like doing her a good turn, ' and leaving her with me he 
went to the railroad office, purchased her a ticket, and made 
arrangements with one of the railroad officials to see her 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 397 

safely through. The poor, despised old woman looked 
astonished, and well she might." 

One of the representatives from England to the Right 
Worthy Grand Lodge was robbed of all his money by con- 
fidence men in New York. Mr. Finch guaranteed all his 
expenses, paid his hotel bill in New York and railroad fare 
to the place of the session, where money was raised among 
the members to pay his fare home. 

While on the way from Lincoln, Neb., to Harvard one 
Saturday afternoon, he overheard the conductor of the 
train saying to a poor woman who had a ticket for Aurora 
that she was on the wrong train and must get off at Crete. 
Noticing her evident distress, Mr. Finch asked her the 
cause, and was informed that she had no money to pay her 
fare back to Lincoln or to pay her board till Monday after- 
noon, when the next train would leave for her destination. 
He promptly handed her the amount needed to pay these 
expenses, although it left him entirely without money to 
pay his own expenses. 

Gifts of money to those in poverty or need were not his 
only donations to the unfortunate. At the risk of his own 
life he would help a fellow-being in distress. 

On a railroad -train in Illinois his attention was attracted 
by a man whose groans indicated that he was suffering great 
pain. Mr. Finch approached him, asked some questions, 
felt his pulse, and made a critical examination of his condi- 
tion, discovering that the man had small-pox. He informed 



398 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the passengers, and they rapidly retreated to the other 
coaches. Mr. Finch bravely stood by the stranger's side 
till the train reached Chicago, when he delivered him over 
to the health authorities, and went on to his work. Taking 
proper precautions, he avoided an attack of the disease to 
which he had been exposed, never having been vaccinated. 
To his pity and tenderness to those who were in trouble, 
he added the bitterest detestation of injustice and oppres- 
sion. If painted from life no truer picture could be made 
than the lines of Whittier : 

" The very gentlest of all human natures 
He joined to courage strong ; 
And love outreaching unto all God's creatures, 
With sturdy hate of wrong." 

In August, 1884, several temperance meetings were held 
in the great tabernacle at the Chautauqua Assembly 
grounds. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union had 
been allowed certain days and were engaged in a meeting, one 
of their most prominent, gifted, and cultured members being 
on the platform delivering an address, when the managers 
of the ground interrupted and asked the ladies to vacate the 
tabernacle that it might be prepared for the reception of a 
great Republican Party leader, who was to be present dur- 
ing the day. So great was the haste of the obsequious ser- 
vants of a political party, that they took possession of the 
platform and removed the property of the Woman's Chris- 
tian Temperance Union with what seemed rude and unman- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 399 

nerly speed. This treatment had been a fertile theme of 
discussion for two or three days, when Mr. Finch arrived 
to fill an engagement to lecture. Just before going on the 
platform he was informed of these circumstances. 

Dropping the topic which had been in his mind, he gave a 
most wonderful description of woman's work, and an eloquent 
appeal for justice, fairness, and right in dealing with her. 

At the close of his address the u Chautauqua salute," in 
its fullest whiteness, was waved by the vast audience, and 
cheer after cheer rose from the assembled thousands. As 
the people dispersed, hundreds of women pressed forward 
to shake Mr. Finch by the hand, and thank him for his 
masterly defence. 

George C. Christian relates an incident which shows his 
superior administrative ability as well as the spiritual side 
of his nature, which occurred while he presided at the ses- 
sion of the Eight Worthy Grand Lodge at Richmond, Va., 
in May, 1886. 

" A question was being discussed with great warmth of 
feeling, when suddenly two of the prominent members be- 
came personal in their remarks, and used angry words tow- 
ard each other. For a moment it was feared that these 
words would be succeeded by other manifestations of ill- 
temper. As quick as a flash Mr. Finch comprehended the 
situation, and calling the members to their feet with the 
gavel, quietly said : ■ The Right Worthy Grand Chaplain 
will please lead us in prayer.' 



400 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

u Brother Chreitzburg offered a wonderful petition, ear- 
nest, pathetic, and full of melting tenderness rarely equalled. 
The prayer acted like a charm upon the entire body, and 
softened the feelings of the disputing brothers so much 
that there was no further misunderstanding during the 
session. " 

Mr. Finch was delivering an address in an Iowa town 
during the prohibitory amendment campaign. The house 
was crowded, and many liquor men were present. The 
speaker took up some of the paralogisms of John P. 
Irish, and ground them to powder beneath his irresistible 
logic. 

The audience cheered the powerful utterance enthusiasti- 
cally, and one man, who could no longer endure the re- 
peated applause to the convincing arguments, lost all con- 
trol of himself and rushed from the room yelling at the top 
of his voice, " You lie ! you lie !" 

After the excitement subsided Mr. Finch quietly said, 
" That man has proved that my statements are true. If 
they had been false, he would not have run, but would 
have stayed to disprove. Only the defeated run." 

At one time when Mr. Finch was very ill of typhoid- 
fever, and unable to speak, the physician ordered brandy, 
saying that nothing else would carry the patient through 
the crisis of the disease. He shook his head in refusal of 
the brandy, and they gave him milk for nourishment and 
used a small quantity of cayenne-pepper to stimulate heart 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 401 

action. Over forty persons died in the village in a few 
weeks from the brandy treatment. 

The marvellous resources of his mind were equal to any 
emergency. Among the best speeches he ever made were 
some of those given under the inspiration of some great 
occasion, and never repeated or preserved. 

Such an occasion came at the funeral of C. TV. Bassett, 
Grand Secretary of Illinois, one of his most intimate friends. 
Mr. Finch and Colonel Sobieski remained with the dying 
secretary during the last few days of his life, striving to 
cheer his path to the shore of the dark river. 

Mr. Finch said to him one day, "It is only a question 
of a short time when we shall meet you again. You will 
be waiting while we are working. If you were leaving for 
California, to make that your permanent home, we should 
be sadder, for we may never see that State." 

The last day he said, " I am glad to see you going so 
cheerful, old boy." 

Mr. Bassett asked these two best friends to take charge 
of the funeral, and after his death Mr. Finch embalmed 
the body. Colonel Sobieski had been selected to deliver 
the funeral oration, but as he rose to address the people he 
was utterly overcome, and sank back whispering : " Finch, 
speak to this audience." 

Without a second for preparation, Mr. Finch arose and 
delivered an address on the " Immortality of the Soul," 
which held the people spellbound for an hour. At the 



402 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

close of the service the ministers of the town called in a 
body at his hotel to request a copy of the address for publi- 
cation. Mr. Finch responded to the request : 

" Gentlemen, I could no more reproduce that address 
than if it had never been spoken. The occasion demanded 
it, and the words were shaped to the needs of the hour." 

His powers of endurance were very great. In a single 
year he lectured in twenty States and provinces, visiting 
some of them several times in the year and delivering more 
than two hundred addresses, attending grand and district 
lodges, and keeping up his extensive correspondence, often 
writing all day and lecturing at night. 

In reaching the States visited — California, Kentucky, 
Ohio, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, Maine — and the Provinces of Ontario — 
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island — he 
was obliged to travel nearly thirty thousand miles, and 
spend an amount of time equal to more than an entire 
month, night and day, upon railroad trains. 

This was only a sample of the work he performed in each 
of the last four years of his life. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE LAST JOURNEY. 

How swift was your going, my brother ; 

Were all the tasks ended so soon, 
Before the bright dew of the morning 

Was dried by the splendors of noon ? 
Did you gather the harvest of living 

From fields yet aglow with your June ? 

How swift was your going, my brother, 
Away from our uttermost reach ; 

No tender farewell in the silence 
From all the rare wealth of your speech ; 

No word from the lips that so calmly 
Smile on, while we vainly beseech. 

How swift was your going, my brother ; 

Can it be you were weary, indeed ? 
Your voice was so ringing and steady, 

Your spirit but stronger in need ; 
Were you hiding the hurt of the battle, 

With no one to comfort or heed ? 

How strange was your going, my brother ; 

What voice did you hear from afar 
So urgent you paused in the conflict, 

And vanished from sight like a star? 
Who sailed with your soul at its going 

Out over eternity's bar ? 



404 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Are we late with our praises, my brother ? 

You needed them more when the strain 
Of the battle was pressing upon you. 

Ah me ! with what royal disdain 
Death crowns you apart in a kingdom 

Untouched by our praising or blame. 

You make us no answer, my brother, 

Your silence rebukes our lament 
And sends us afield, where the contest 

For truth and the human are blent. 
Ah ! God was anear in that shadow, 

You found Him the pathway you went ; 
No wonder you make us no answer, 

Since crowned with eternal content. 

Mary T. Lathrop. 

ON Friday morning, September 30th, at eleven o'clock 
Mr. Finch reached home from a long trip in Dakota, 
where he had been at work, in connection with the Grand 
Lodge of Good Templars, to secure local prohibition in as 
many counties as possible. 

Upon his arrival he said to Mrs. Finch, " I must see 
some of the workers before I go East, and, if you will go 
with me, I will run in to Chicago this afternoon." 

This being agreed upon, the contemplated visits to pro- 
hibition headquarters and to the offices of several Prohibi- 
tionists were made, and the afternoon spent in discussing 
the condition and needs of the Western work. 

Saturday morning he was up early and at his desk writing 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 407 

letters. About two o'clock in the afternoon be said : 
" This is my only day at home, and 1 will not write all day. " 

This was so unusual that it was very gratifying to Mrs. 
Finch, who accompanied him to the lake shore, a few blocks 
away, as soon as his writing was laid aside. They visited 
soma cottages which were in process of construction, and 
while viewing them, Mr. Finch remarked : 

" In five or six years, if I live as long, I should like to 
have a cottage on the Hudson, and rest and study during 
the summer months." 

When they returned home they were seated on the porch, 
and Mrs. Finch, after looking long and earnestly in his 
face, asked : 

" Are you well ? I do not think you are looking usually 
well. There is an uncommon pallor in your face." 

"I am feeling well;" then, after a moment a shadow 
passed over his face as he added : " My head troubles me." 

Mrs. Finch thought it only a passing headache, but after- 
ward realized how much he was suffering. 

" This will be a long and tiresome trip after your exces- 
sive work in Dakota," she said. 

"I fear it will," he answered, and the conversation 
turned upon home matters. 

He had a romp with " little John" for the rest of the 
day. They raked the leaves from the lawn, and when they 
had finished he said to the son : "Now, keep the leaves 
nicely raked off from the lawn while papa is gone." 



408 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Saturday evening at eight o'clock he left for Boston to 
fill a series of engagements in Massachusetts and New York. 
As was his usual custom, he telegraphed friends in Chicago 
and other points along the line of his journey to meet him 
at the railroad stations and discuss with him plans of work 
in which they were mutually interested. 

There seemed to be no shadow of the coming change 
upon him as he started on this last journey. During the 
single day he remained at home his spirits seemed more 
than usually buoyant, as he contemplated the rest he had 
determined to reserve for himself at the close of the period 
of exacting labor demanded by the political campaigns in 
which he had promised to aid. 

He joyfully promised wife and boy, as he bade them 
good-by, that he would be home immediately after the 
November elections. 

Beaching Boston at 9.35 a.m. on Monday, October 3d, he 
went directly to the Adams House, where he made his head- 
quarters whenever his work called him to New England. 

He wrote to Mrs. Finch, " I am here safe and sound. 
The trip was rather pleasant." 

During the forenoon he visited the oflices of the Pro- 
hibition Party State Committee, meeting many prominent 
party workers, and conversing about future political cam- 
paigns. 

" How is your health now?" asked Edward Carswell, 
when he met Mr. Finch at prohibition headquarters. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 409 

' c Never better in iny life," Mr. Finch replied, empha- 
sizing the hearty declaration by rising and striking his chest 
so vigorously with his fist that many a stronger man might 
have shrank from receiving such a blow. 

{ ' It is well we cannot see 
What the end will be." 

His apparent confidence in his physical powers inspired 
all who saw him with a like confidence. And yet beneath 
the sanguine seeming there may have lurked a vague and hard- 
ly recognized premonition that he might not live many days. 

He also visited the office of the Grand Lodge, where he 
saw leading Massachusetts Good Templars, and chatted 
familiarly concerning the work and prospects of the Order. 
He dined with his friend, B. R. Jewell, Secretary of the 
Massachusetts Total Abstinence Society, and during the 
meal spoke of the campaign of 1888, and of General Fisk as 
the strongest man the Prohibition Party could nominate. 

In the afternoon he remained in his rooms at the Adams 
House, where he received numerous friends and enter- 
tained them with his genial conversation. 

Mr. Finch had been advertised to speak at Lynn Monday 
evening ; Lawrence, Tuesday ; Medford, Wednesday, and 
Monson, Thursday. 

Before leaving for Lynn, twelve miles from Boston, on 
the Eastern Railroad, Mr. Finch requested Frank P. Dyer 
to give a verbal message to Mr. Roberts. 



410 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" You can tell him yourself to-morrow," remarked Mr. 
Dyer. 

" We know nothing about to-morrow ; you be sure and 
tell him," answered Mr. Finch. 

He was accompanied to Lynn by Mr. Pratt, a Boston 
Prohibitionist, who desired to hear the address. Mr. Finch 
bought an evening paper, and on entering the car, glanced 
over it hastily to catch the latest news, after • which he 
fell into an earnest conversation with his companion. He 
spoke of the influences which were prompting the Southern 
people to espouse the principle of prohibition, and analyzed 
the different social conditions of the Northern States and the 
influences at work concentrating public attention upon the 
evils of the liquor traffic, and upon measures for the sup- 
pression of these evils by the removal of their cause. 

At the railroad station in Lynn a delegation of local 
workers and personal friends were in waiting to escort Mr. 
Finch to the hall, where other acquaintances had gathered 
in the anteroom to welcome their honored leader. He had 
never exhibited more life and spirits than in the few mo- 
ments the little company in the anteroom engaged in pleas- 
ant conversation, while waiting for the audience to assemble. 

When the hour arrived, more than fifteen hundred peo- 
ple were packed in the hall. By some inadvertence the 
chairman of the meeting neglected to call upon the minister, 
who had been invited to the platform for the purpose of 
opening the meeting with prayer. After being introduced 




THE LYNN AUDITORIUM WHERE JOHN B. FINCH MADE HIS LAST ADDRESS. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B, FINCH. 413 

to the audience, Mr. Finch rose and said, gently and rev- 
erently : 

" The principles of our party and its methods are such 
that we can go to God for His blessing. I therefore call 
upon Rev. Alexander Dight to offer prayer." 

During the prayer Mr. Finch stood with bowed head ; 
when it was finished he commenced his address. As an 
answer to the pastor's prayer, he seemed anointed with the 
chrism of truth. Never before had the marvellous magic 
of voice and eye, with his fervid, eloquent words, wrought 
such miracles of conviction in the minds of his hearers. 
Every listener saw that the speaker's deep earnestness could 
only come from unwavering faith in the truth of his words 
and the righteousness of his cause. The living faith that 
thrilled through every nerve and fibre of his being could 
not fail to wake responsive chords in the hearts of his 
hearers. 

Unfortunately, a complete short-hand report of this ad- 
dress was not taken. A stenographer present made some 
notes for his own use, and portions of the speech have been 
preserved and are here given. Mr. Finch said : 

' ' Ladies and Gentlemen : It gives me the greatest pleasure to again 
visit Lynn, and especially so as I have heard of the wonderful work 
going on in your city in the last few weeks. The party which I repre- 
sent believes in all lines of educational work, in order to prepare for a 
government by the people, of the people, and for the people. The safety 
of the Government lies in the morals and intelligence of the great 
masses of the people who record their opinion at the ballot-box ; so 



414 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

to-night I ask you to travel over in a measure familiar ground, because 
the oftener we go back to primary principles the nearer we will get 
right. 

"Early in the history of the Republic the public bar-room was so 
apparent as a political force that it was found necessary to take means 
to repress it. As a school of vice and crime its danger was so much felt 
that in several colonies war was made upon it. Our forefathers felt that a 
government of the people must rest upon the intelligence and morals of 
the people. They saw that the grog-shop beggared womanhood and 
childhood, so they reached down a restraining hand on these vicious 
tendencies. Between 1847 and 1855 the people became so alarmed that 
they outlawed it in eleven States ; and I am here to say that if the Civil 
War had not intervened there would not have been a legalized bar-room 
to-day in this country. But at that time another evil came to the front. 
It became tyrannical in its demands, and in 1861 put its hand on the 
throat of this .Republic ; and then all other questions stood to one side. 

" An ancient writer has said that the moral men of a nation are its 
patriots. The bad men are its bounty -jumpers and dead-beats. The 
bad men stayed back. When the cannon fired on Fort Sumter, there 
was not a church, school-house, or home that did not feel the impulses 
of patriotism. There were churches wanting pastors, there were school- 
houses without teachers, but did you know of a single grog-shop that 
shut up on account of the war ? No. That was the time when vice 
flourished. Why ? Because the moral men were at the front. And 
■when at last peace settled over the Republic the grog-shops had in- 
creased, and they had throttled the law in five States. It was at this 
time that the Brewers' Congress came into existence. 

" The war closed, and the boys came back. Then what ? The tem- 
perance men looked for their movement and it was gone. They then 
called the attention of the leading men of this country to the fact that 
the grog-shops and houses of ill-fame had increased. The leading men 
said : ' In regard to this thing, we know that you are right, but you must 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 415 

wait until we have reconstructed the South.' Did we protest ? No. 
We said, ' We will wait until you have settled the Southern question. ' 
Even when they put drinking men on their tickets, we voted for them. 
They gave us political notes, and we have this political paper to-day, 
and it's not worth five cents on the political dollar. 

" The negligence of statesmen is the opportunity of demagogues. 
Gentlemen, you will never cure a cancer by putting a plaster over it, 
and if a competent physician does not go to the root, a quack will try 
his hand ; and he will be liable to do harm. Suppose some one is 
taken sick in this hall. You call for a physician. No one presents 
himself. A quack makes his appearance and offers his services. Do 
you reject him ? No. In case of sickness you are ready to look any- 
where for help. This country has become again and again sick because 
our physicians don't do anything. See, as I saw in Chicago, a bomb 
thrown and seven dead policemen picked up after the bursting ; and in 
St. Louis men shot down in the railroad strike, and tell me there is 
nothing the matter with the labor problem of the country ! The labor, 
prohibition, and monopoly questions have to be met. 

" The farmers of the West went up to Congress, and said : Yv'e 
want a chance to put our pork on the market at rates we can live 
upon. Mr. Stanford, as a witness in the Pacific Railroad investigation, 
said that his rule was to charge the rates that the traffic would bear. So 
you see that if the price of corn should rise the farmer does not get the 
benefit. The railroads raise the price of transportation. This same 
Stanford in a United States Court refused to answer what he spent 
$68,000 for ; when the evidence was very strong that it went for bribery, 
he forgot. And when the court was requested by the prosecuting at- 
torney to compel him to answer, it replied that it could not. The farmers 
of the West of this country have got done making Jay Gould or Stanford 
millionaires, and they are done putting such men in Congress. 

" Kutherford B. Hayes withdrew the troops from the South and said, 
Reconstruction is accomplished. Then the temperance people went and 



416 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

said to the leading men, ' Settle this question now.' Would not you 
have thought that they would have attended then? But no. They 
said : ' If you kick us out you will undo all we have done.' And so 
through their putting it off the country to-day stands face to face with a 
great social, industrial, and labor problem. 

" When a government raises more money from its people than it 
needs, it is a poor government. How do existing parties stand to-day ? 
Mr. Carlisle says one thing, Mr. Randall says another, Democrats of 
Georgia wanting one thing, Democrats of Massachusetts wanting another. 
Can you tell me how a license Democrat of this State can pull in the 
harness with a prohibition Democrat of Georgia ? Can you tell me how 
a prohibition Republican of Iowa can stand cheek by jowl with a rum 
Kepublican of Illinois, who demands that no laws shall be made in 
regard to Sunday selling ? -The platforms of the parties read both ways. 
If you have seen a political platform that did not have as many sides as 
a rolling-pin, I would like to see it. 

" A Republican once said to me, • I want you to understand that we 
saved the country.' I said, ' I am glad that you did, but you don't seem 
to realize it and want to keep on saving it. Tell me what you are 
going to do, not what you have done. What are you going to do 
for my boy ? ' This question must be met, and must not be put off. 
The labor question, the temperance question, and the monopoly question 
must be met ; and you cannot wiggle out of it. There is no law more 
general than this one : that every political privilege takes with it a duty. 

" Don't forget that there are no rights without duties. The men of 
Massachusetts once said : * We grant that you are king, but it is your 
duty to govern us, and investigate all public wrongs and abuses.' And 
when George III. refused, they said that a failure to perform political 
duty takes away political right. That is all your Declaration of Inde- 
pendence means. They took the crown from the head of the king, and 
placed it upon the voters of this country, and we inherited its duties. 
The rights of freemen make the duties of freemen. A man once told 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 417 

me that he had not voted for ten years. I said that I would not adver- 
tise myself as a political dead-beat. The Government asks that you 
should investigate and put on record your opinion. I do believe that in 
these Eastern States political dead-headism is the curse of the country. 
And it rests chiefly upon the good men and business men. Public 
opinion is collected in the ballot-box one day in the year. A man's 
ballot is his honest and conscientious opinion of public matters and 
men. It is not only his right, but his duty to investigate. An election 
is simply a trial of issues, and it is a man's duty to vote. I am not 
saying how you should vote, but vote as your reason dictates. A man 
once said to me, ' I belong to the Kepublican Party.' I told him that 
the party had a pretty poor piece of property. I don't belong to any 
party. I am a member of a party, and when my party wiggles and twists 
on a great question, I will get out of it and help defeat it. 

" A gentleman said to me once, ' Between two evils, would you not 
choose the least ? ' I said, • What ? Say that again.' I then said : 
' Supposing you went into a restaurant and asked for a glass of lemonade 
and wanted an egg in it, and the proprietor should say : " I have but 
two eggs ; one is rotten and the other spoiled — which will you have ?" 
what would you say to him?' After scratching his head, he said : ' I 
think I would tell him I would wait until the hen laid again.' 
Now, politically, had you not better wait until a new egg is laid ? 
The most damnable doctrine that is in existence to stand upon is, 
'Between two evils, choose the least.' I want the boys to be taught 
to do right because it is right to do right, even if they live on the Cana- 
dian line. I want the girls to think that the sin is in the doing, not 
in the being found out. A prominent temperance man said in this 
State in a public meeting, ' We are going up to the Legislature to 
ask for constitutional prohibition. If we don't get that we shall ask 
for a better license law, and if we can't get that, we will ask for the 
enforcement of the present law.' You can imagine which he would get. 
It reminds me of a boy who was sent to a fair to sell a horse, and being 



418 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

asked what the price was, said : ' Father told me to get $100, and if I 
couldn't get that, take $80, and if I couldn't get that, take $60.' 
When we will make up our minds what is right, and stand by the right, 
men who want votes will want ours. 

" Let me call your attention to the difference between things before 
the war and to-day. The truth is, that the liquor business that we are 
fighting to-day is a thing of recent origin. The grog-shop before the 
war was the drug-store or tavern or grocery. It was a side-show of 
another business. The liquor business is the only business where a bad 
character is better than a good one. "Which grog-shops are the better 
patronized ? Is it not a fact that a man who gets a reputation as a bad 
man, especially as a fighter — such as Sullivan, Kyan, and Sheedy — gets 
the trade ? Then it is a business that does not require much business 
experience. In any other business a man must be a business man, 
understanding book-keeping and every branch of a complex trade in 
order to be successful. But the liquor business is a cash one. Fre- 
quently the grocer is obliged to give credit, while some of his cus- 
tomers pay cash for liquor. All a liquor-dealer need know is, how to pass 
out the bottle, make change so as not to cheat himself, and have strength 
to throw out an unruly customer. We have in this country more than 
one hundred and fifty thousand men in the retail liquor trade, and they 
are there simply to make money. No man ever went into it as philan- 
thropist. They have gilded saloons with mirrors, a centre-table with all 
the newspapers, games, billiards, music, and even advertise for girls 
' for easy, lucrative positions,' and hire them as waitresses in low-neck 
dresses to entice our country lads who go into the city. They have long 
ago learned what John Morrissey, that great statesman, learned, when 
he introduced a bill to prevent gambling in New York State. When 
some of the gamblers said to him, ' John, you will ruin our business,' 
he said : ' Can't you see that the people demand a law of this kind, 
and will have it ? We will give them the law, and we will take care 
of the officers.' He knew that a law in the hands of its enemies 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 419 

never was and never would be enforced. Suppose that at the end of 
the war you had elected Jeff Davis President of the United States, do 
you imagine that reconstruction would have been carried through by 
him? 

" To-day, if I could pass a prohibition law in the State of Massachu- 
setts, and I could not put officers in power in sympathy with it, I would 
not pass the law, because people would say that the law is a failure, when 
the failure would not be due to the law, but to the perjured rascals who 
swore to enforce the law and did not. The naked sword of justice in the 
hands of a determined party is the only instrument that will bring the 
desired result. My Eepublican friends, what was your argument from 
1870 to 1886 ? It was : Keep us in power who have made the law if you 
want it enforced. We went all over this State in the snow and slush, 
and the women got a big petition asking that the people might have a 
chance to express their will on this question of constitutional prohibi- 
tion. But up at the State House they said : ' We give you leave to take 
that petition out-doors.' The Eepublican Party cries out against ballot- 
box stuffing in the South, but why did not the Eepublican Party of 
Michigan investigate the frauds of that State, where 2200 votes were cast 
against the constitutional amendment in a county where there were only 
1600 voters ? 

" My friends, you have won the last constitutional victory you will win 
until you have broken the back of the existing political forces of this 
country. I stand here to-night to say that so great is the organized 
liquor interest of this country that it is a political crime for an honest 
Christian man to be put in nomination. I was stumping the State of 
Ohio once for a Methodist as Governor, and there was another Method- 
ist running as a candidate for Governor. I met him on a railroad train, 
and he said : ' Mr. Finch, what are you down here for working against 
me ? ' I said, * You are a member of the Methodist Church, are you 
not? ' He said, ' Yes.' I said, ' I want you to understand that it is a 
political crime to be a Christian.' He said, ' What do you mean? ' I 



420 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

said, ' You will have to go back on your religion to be successful. If 
you will write a letter stating that you will enforce the Sunday law I'll 
leave the State.' He said, ' Finch, I cannot do it. It would defeat me.' 
I am not going to be anything politically that I can't be religiously. 
Once, in a convention, as chairman of a delegation, I offered a resolu- 
tion in favor of the enforcement of the Sunday law, whereupon a mem- 
ber moved that I be expelled. They did not turn me out, but they threw 
out my resolution. Then I said that I would do all I could to defeat 
them. They then nominated as chief candidate an intimate friend of 
mine, and said : ' Surely, Finch, you will not go back on the party ? ' 
but I said, ' Yes, I'll go back on any party that gets between me and my 
conscience.' There are a lot of men that will do dirty political work 
and mean tricks for their party, that as Christians they ought not 
to do. 

" It is not pleasant to sever party ties and have your friends turned to 
enemies. But can we get anything within the old parties ? If I had be- 
lieved that we could, I would have stayed in one of them. The old parties 
cannot keep promises when they make them. The Democratic dog and 
Republican dog are after the bone of offices. What have they done ? 
Why don't they fight? They cannot. Let the Democratic dog bark for 
free-trade and he would be without his tail. He has a temperance leg 
in Georgia and a rum leg in Massachusetts. What holds him together ? 
His skin, labelled '■ Hate to the Eepublican Party ; ' and if he should 
swallow a good-sized principle, he would fall to pieces. The Eepublican 
dog has a protection head and a free-trade tail, a prohibition leg in 
Iowa and a whiskey leg in Illinois. And they stand with their hind 
legs to the future, and they love themselves so much that they would 
not change ends for anything. We honor both parties for the good they 
have done. We have no bitter words for these old parties. We simply 
say that they cannot do the work. My father worked as a machinist 
until the muscles became contracted, so that he could not perform any 
longer his work properly. So I said, ■ Father, give up work and take 



THE LIFE OF JOHN' B. FINCH. 421 

your ease, and let us look after the business. ' Did this in any way im- 
ply that I did not appreciate what father had done ? 

" I believe that the great mass of the Kepublicans of this State believed 
in the sincerity of the prohibition plank last year. They hitched on 
their old machine and tried to lift it, but no ; it went up and up and 
up, and then the gentleman from Somerville stuck a bottle of beer in the 
cogs, and the machine broke. In Congress they hitched on the Demo- 
cratic machine to the tariff reform, and the thing went up and up and 
up till Sam Kandall put in an iron bar, and the thing stopped. 

" The party that cannot make its men vote and keep its promises is 
no party at all. It was the pledge of the Republican Party of this State 
to carry through the prohibition amendment. Why did they not call a 
caucus and compel its passage ? You say they could not. Then their 
old machine is worn out. A political party is a company of people 
joined together to carry through their pledges. A man who voted 
against the amendment is in just as good standing as ever. Have you 
heard of any one of them being kicked out ? No. The party is so weak 
that it can't kick them out. Look at the head of their ticket — a temper- 
ance man for Governor, a whiskey man for Lieutenant-Governor. If 
the Republican Party was honest, why did it not pass a prohibition 
law ? It surely had votes enough for that. 

" A Democratic politician said to me, with an oath, ' The trouble 
with you prohibition fellows is, you are getting the boys. ' And it is so. 
"We are getting the boys. Prohibitory clubs are being formed in all the 
colleges, and they are meeting with great success. It was remarked at 
the convention at Syracuse that one half the men were under thirty-five. 
You can't enthuse the boys over dry bones, but you can enthuse them 
over to-day ; and that is what you must do. 

" I'm not going to impeach the old parties. Good men are in the 
wagon, but they don't hold the reins. I have heard that once there was 
a man so mean that he lost all his friends, and when he came to die he 
left his money to a charitable association, providing they would furnish 



422 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the mourners. So they hired three Irishmen to follow the hearse with 
heads bowed and not lift them. Going through the city, one of them 
said : ' Mike, I smell something ; I'm going to look up.' The other 
said, ' What do you care ? You are paid to look down. Now keep 
quiet.' But finally the smell was so strong he looked up, and found 
that in passing through the city they had missed the hearse and were 
following a swill-cart. Now, you fellows that followed Lincoln, Garri- 
son, Phillips, and Sumner, and are now following such men as Elkins, 
Dorsey, and Brackett, are you quite sure but that in this political 
funeral you have missed the hearse and are following some political 
swill-cart ? 

" But, says some good Democrat, 'Have you no respect for the old 
Democratic Party ? ' Yes, I have ; but the party is a good deal like the 
Irishman's hill of potatoes— the best part under ground. Parties are 
needed with live questions, and with live men to lead them ; and there 
is not a party that can possibly work out the problems of to-day and 
leave prohibition out of the question. The attempt by the old parties 
to do this makes the Prohibition Party a necessity ; and no politician 
can solve the problem and leave the Prohibition Party out of the calcu- 
lation. 

" Boys, we can't offer you offices ; but if you want a chance to fight 
for mother, home, and conscience, and against the grog-shop and mo- 
nopolies, come with us, and we will carry the banner of prohibition until 
in the White House sits a man who believes in the principles of the Pro- 
hibition Party." 

A testimonial of the power of the speech was given the 
next evening at a prayer- meeting in the Christian Church 
of Lynn. A young man said : 

" Last night 1 went to hear Mr. Finch. "When I went 
into the hall I was a Republican. To-night I wish to lay 
my tribute at the feet of this fallen Christian hero of pro- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINOH. 423 

hibition, and to say that hereafter I shall vote the prohibi- 
tion ticket." 

Mr. Finch left the hall at 10 p.m., accompanied by Mr. 
Pratt, and they walked to the depot in time to catch the 
10.06 train for Boston. Although he had expended much 
physical force during the delivery of the address, he showed 
little sign of exhaustion, and chatted freely with his com- 
panion during the half -hour ride. The subject of conver- 
sation was the sacrifice made by himself and other young 
men in abandoning old political parties to join a new party. 

Massachusetts affairs were discussed, and Mr. Finch said 
concerning the Governor : " Mr. Ames has been placed 
where he could immortalize his name, if he would only be 
true to his convictions." 

" No man can be a truly happy man," Mr. Pratt re- 
marked, " unless he is true to his convictions." 

" lhave felt that," replied Mr. Finch ; " although it cost 
me as much sacrifice as it would cost most men to leave my 
old party, 1 have been a freer, happier man as a Prohibi- 
tionist than ever before I joined the party." 

Arrived at the Boston depot, the question was asked : 
" Shall we ride or walk up-town ?" 

"It's pretty muddy, and I think we had better take a 
cab, " Mr. Finch answered in his usual tones. 

Mr. Pratt then stepped from the railroad car upon the 
platform. He had advanced a few steps toward the street 
when he felt his arm grasped convulsively, and, hastily 



424 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

turning, he saw Mr. Finch gasping for breath, and caught 
him in his arms, lowering him gently to the floor. Not 
comprehending the awful truth, Mr. Pratt attempted to 
arouse animation by rubbing his limbs and body, but soon 
discovered that the heart had ceased to beat, and John B. 
Finch was gone. 

His departure was as painless as sudden. One or two 
gasps for breath, and the lips that had moved the multitudes 
with their passionate pleading and prayer for human weal 
were silent forever, and the princely leader sank to sleep 

" Like one who draws the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

" Good-night ! good-night, beloved, 
While I count the weary hours." 

" O Time, thou must untangle this, not I ; 
'Tis too hard a knot for me to untie !" 

" God is His own interpreter, 
And He will make it plain." 

Friends and physicians were soon summoned, but no 
earthly aid could be given. The body was taken to the 
undertaker's, embalmed and placed in a handsome casket. 

At three o'clock Wednesday afternoon a short funeral 
service was held, all the leaders of temperance work in 
Boston being present. Dr. A. A. Miner and Dr. A. J. Gor- 
don conducted the services. Rev. J. W. Hamilton said in 
his prayer : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 425 

" We are here to represent the mourning country. We 
thank Thee for his life. He has fallen, young in years, 
but twice as old in labor. May we be a bolder people and 
a better people for the life and the death of this man." 

At seven o'clock on Wednesday evening the party selected 
to accompany the remains to Evanston left Boston. Frank 
P. Dyer, Secretary of the Massachusetts State Prohibition 
Committee ; Rev. A. A. Williams, of Lynn, and Charles L. 
Abbott, Grand Chief Templar of the Independent Order 
of Grand Templars, were the committee in charge. 

They arrived in Chicago on Friday morning at seven 
o'clock, when the body was taken to an undertaker's, and 
thence to Evanston, arriving at eleven in the forenoon. 

Mrs. Finch was so prostrated that she could not see the 
remains, or meet the friends who had come from Boston to 
bring home her illustrious husband. She saw the remains 
but once, on Saturday morning, and was unable to be pres- 
ent at the funeral. Such was her condition that none of 
the friends who came from abroad were able to see her, 
and, to their very great disappointment, they were com- 
pelled to return to their homes without clasping her hand. 

At first she realized the terrible truth only in part. Her 
mind was full of the idea expressed by the poet, 

" It seems strange, with so much gone 
Of life and love, to still live on." 

After many days she rallied, gathering strength from the 



426 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

i pressure of duty to the little son, left to her sole guidance 

and care. 

" God never leaves a soul on earth without leaving some 

work for it to do to keep it from despair, some sin to be 

atoned for, some duty to be fulfilled." 

The words of Longfellow came like a benison to her sore 

heart : 

" O holy trust ! O endless sense of rest ! 
Like the beloved John 
To lay his head upon the Saviour's breast, 
And thus to journey on !" 

Among the hundreds of telegrams received by Mrs. 
Finch in the first days of her terrible grief, the following 
voice the general sentiments of sorrow : 

"Mattston, Wis., October 4, 1887. 

" No one can sympathize with you more than I do since the receipt of 
the terrible news of the sudden death of our brave leader. How I love 
him ! No other man can ever take his place in my affections, or plan for 
the Order as he has done. Command me either officially or personally 
in this hour of our great bereavement. 

" B. F. Paekeb." 

" Hastings, Neb., October 4, 1887. 

' ' Ten thousand Nebraska Good Templars weep with you to-day. May 
the God of the widow and orphan sustain you in this hour. 

" Anna M. Saundees, 

" Grand Chief Templar." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 427 

" Freeport, III., October 4, 1887. 
" Accept our most profound sympathy. May God sustain you. 

" R. J. Hazlett, 

" Grand Secretary. 
"Genie F. Hazlett." 

" Pacific Grove, Cal., October 4, 1887. 
' ' A chaplet of laurel and wreath of immortelles for your honored hus- 
band, who gave his life that others might live. Though dead he still 
lives. Accept sincerest condolence and sympathy of the Grand Lodge 

of California, now in session. 

"J. M. Wallin, 

" Grand Chief Templar. 
" George B. Katzenstein, 

" Grand Secretary.' " 

" New Yoek, N. Y., October 4, 1887. 

" The bureau executive extends you their profoundest sympathy in 

this hour of overwhelming affliction. 

" William McK. Gatchell, 

" Secretary of National Prohibition Lecture Bureau." 

" New Yoek, October 4, 1887. 

" The sad news has just reached me ; sorrow has taken possession of 

my soul. Your husband was a man among men. God bless you in this 

trying hour. 

" George E. Scott, 

"Editor « Witness:' " 

''Glasgow, Scotland, October 5, 1887. 
" Psalm 46 : 1 ; John 11 : 25. 

" W. W. Ttjrnbull, 

" B. W. G. Counsellor:* 
*' God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." 
' ' Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life : he that 
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." 



428 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" New Yoek, October 5, 1887. 
" Your loss is ours, and not only ours, but the nation's. In great 
sorrow we extend heartfelt sympathy to you. 

" Me. and Mes. E. S. Cheves." 

" Loda, III., October 4. 
" Accept my deep sympathy in your great affliction. 

1 ' Ueiah Copp. Je. , 
" Grand Chief Templar of Illinois." 

" Bloomington, III. 
" The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Illinois shares your 
bereavement. Let us believe that God will carry on the work, though 
he calls home the workmen. Head second Timothy, fourth chapter, 

seventh and eighth verses. 

" Mes. Lucia B. Tyng, 

" Mes. Maey E. Holmes, 

" Committee." 

" Woonsocket, D. T., October 5, 1887. 
" Ourselves and all Dakota Templars sympathize with you and Johnnie 

in the world's great loss. 

" Kanouse and Fulsom, 

" Grand Chief Templar and Grand Secretary of Dakota." 

"Boston, Mass., October 4, 1887. 
" My tearful sympathies. John was my dear friend. God bless and 

help you. What can I do ? 

" John W. Cummings." 

" Lincoln, Neb., October 4, 1887. 
" The nation mourns with you with prayers and sympathy. 

" H. C. and Ada M. Bittenbendee." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 429 

"Rochestee, N. Y., October 5, 1887. 

" Accept my heartfelt sympathy in this hour of your unexpected 
bereavement. Thousands of sorrowing hearts bow with yours at this 
sudden call. The willow bends, the oak breaks. It was the oak that 
went down at Boston last night. God comfort you and your boy with 
His everlasting promise. Command me where I can serve you. 

' ' W. MaETTN JONES, 

" Past Grand Chief Templar." 

" Speingeieed, O., October 5, 1887. 
" Our hearts bow with you in grief. See Numbers 6 : 24-26. 

"Mes. H. L. Monboe." 

" New Tobk, October 4, 1887. 

" The swift blow that has saddened your household, strikes tears from 

the eyes of thousands upon thousands of strong men and women. May 

the Heavenly Father uphold you and defend the cause in whose service 

vour husband has laid down his life. 

"The Voice." 

" BrR^nxGHAM, Eng., October 4, 1887. 

" Accept our deepest sympathy. 

" Joseph Maeins, 

" Grand Chief Templar of England." 

" Boston, Mass., October 4, 1887. 
" My dear, God called him home suddenly last night. 

" Saeah A. Leonard, 
" Grand Secretary of Massachusetts." 

" Marshall, Minn., October 5, 1887. 
" Just received the awful news. Will come first train. 

' ' John Sobieski. ' ' 



430 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" Minneapolis, Minn., October 5, 1887. 
1 " Minnesota's Good Templar heart bleeds for you to-day. Personally 
accept our deepest sympathy in this your great trial. 

" H. B. Quick, 

" Grand Chief Templar. 
" Kate L. Penniman, 

" Grand Secretary." 

"Lincoln, Neb., October 5, 1887. 
" Lincoln Woman's Christian Temperance Union mourns with you the 
death of your noble husband. The temperance cause has lost its fore- 
most champion. Numbers 6 : 24-26. 

" Mes. J. H. Mocked." 

' ' Beateice, Neb. 

" Pray that the sacrifice recorded in Ephesians 3 : 17-19 be fulfilled 
in you, for when He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble ? 

" The W. C. T. U. op Nebraska in Convention Assembled." 

" St. Louis, Mo. 

" Mrs. Scott joins me in sincere sympathy in your great bereavement. 

' ' Robeet R. Scott, 

" Past B. W. G. Treasurer." 

" Nashville, Tenn. 

" The National Woman's Christian Temperance Union to our Beloved Sister: 

" Our heart is as thy heart ; thy sorrow is ours. May our Father 

comfort His beloved. 

" Maey A. Woodbeidge, 

" Secretary." 

" Middlebury, Vt. 

' • The Prohibitionists of Vermont remember you in your great bereave- 
ment. The sudden stroke which takes from you a loving husband has 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 431 

taken from us a courageous leader and a beloved friend. Accept our 

sympathy. 

" Clinton Smith, 

" Chairman State Committee.'* 

" Boston, Mass. 
" Deep sympathy and prayers for you. 

" Jessie Foesythe, 

" B. W. G. Vice Templar." 

" Lake Village, N. H. 

" The Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, now in session, is made sad 
by the death of our brother and distinguished leader. We extend sin- 
cere sympathy in your great affliction. 

" Geoege A. Bailey, 

" Grand Chief Templar." 

" Pateeson, N. J. 
" New Jersey sends sympathy in your affliction. It is a personal loss 

to all. 

" Geoege Stapleton, 

" Grand Chief Templar.' " 

*' St. Maetin's, New Beunswick. 
"The Grand Lodge of New Brunswick extends to you sympathy in 

your great bereavement. 

" W. Vaughan, 

" Grand Chief Templar." 

' ' Hamilton, Ontaeio. 

" Ontario Templars, overwhelmed with grief at the loss of our noble 

leader, extend heartfelt sympathy, praying the Almighty to have you 

and yours in His loving keeping. 

" Thomas Lawless, 

" Grand Secretary." 



432 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 

" Belfast, Ireland. 
" Ireland prays God may support you in your great sorrow. 

" Gband Seceetaey of Good Templars." 

" Theee KrvERS, Quebec. 

' ' Accept heartfelt sympathy of the Quebec Templars in this your 

bereavement and our loss. 

"B. W. Williams, 

" Grand Chief Templar." 

" Pasadena, Cal. 
" We were greatly shocked and grieved by the sad news of the death 
of Mr. Finch, and hasten to assure you of our deepest sympathy. May 
our Heavenly Father sustain you in this sad hour. 

" Me. and Mes, John P. St. John." 

" Seabeight, N. J. 
" For you there is widespread sorrow, and for your dear dead husband 
enduring fame. Mrs. Fisk unites with me in sincere sympathy. 

" Clinton B. Fisk." 

During the afternoon of Friday and all day Saturday 
many beautiful floral pieces were sent by friends and 
societies from near and from distant points. 

The Right Worthy Grand Lodge Executive Committee 
sent a beautiful design of the emblems of the Good Tem- 
plar Order. This consisted of a cross of white carnations 
and Nephitos roses, with an anchor on one side and a heart 
on the other. 

A particularly appropriate floral tribute, sent by the Illi- 
nois Grand Lodge of Good Templars, was a ship of white 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 433 

carnations, tuberoses, white roses, and smilax, with purple 
immortelles forming the words " Our leader has fallen." 

The Grand Lodge of Ohio sent a beautiful tablet of white 
roses and carnations, with the touching words, " We mourn 
a man and a leader," in purple immortelles. 

A broken column was sent by Nebraska Grand Lodge 
of Good Templars. It was composed of white carnations, 
tuberoses, and white roses twined with smilax, with the 
letters "I. O. G. T. of Nebraska" at the base. 

A beautiful cross and crown was sent by the Grand Lodge 
of Massachusetts. 

The Grand Lodge of Minnesota sent a large anchor with 
heart in the centre. This was composed of white carna- 
tions, Nephitos roses, shaded with Marechal Niel and Pearl 
des Jardins. 

The Good Templar Lodge of Lincoln, Neb., sent a cross 
and sickle of white roses and carnations. 

Willard Good Templar Lodge of Evanston, of which 
Mr. Finch was a member, sent a fine piece, " The gates 
ajar,' ' with a white dove descending. 

Banner Lodge of Good Templars of Chicago sent a piece 
representing the Good Templar field, " The World," 
with North and South America in purple immortelles, and 
a William Francis Bennett rose representing Chicago. This 
rested on an easel. 

E. H. Clapp, of Boston, sent a regalia of the usual size, 
composed of white carnations and tuberoses, with a border 



434 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH, 

of smilax. Upon each side were the words, " Right Worthy 
Grand Templar,' ' in purple immortelles. 

A floral design from Mr. and Mrs. Cheves was an open 
book with a crown above it. The book was composed of 
white carnations and Nephitos roses, and the crown of the 
same flowers. At the base of the standard on which the 
open book rested was a cluster of La France roses. The 
standard was covered with ivy leaves and the book rested 
on a delicate bed of smilax. 

From the Young Ladies' Ideal Brass Band of Mauston, 
Wis., was received a beautiful harp of white roses, carna- 
tions, and tuberoses. 

The offering of Miss Frances Willard and Miss Anna 
Gordon was a cluster of cream-tinted white roses tied with 
a white ribbon. 

A beautiful heart of white carnations and roses was sent 
by Mr. and Mrs. Duffy, of Evanston. 

Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Monroe, of Chicago, sent a very 
beautiful tribute of white immortelles, with the words, 
" Guard the Faith," in purple. 

Among those from distant points who came to accompany 
their lost leader to his last resting-place, were B. F. Parker, 
E.W. G. S., of Wisconsin; Uriah Copp, R.W.G.T., of 
Illinois ; Oronhytekha, Chairman of the Literature Com- 
mittee and Grand Past Counsellor, of Canada ; E. W. 
Chafln, G.C.T.,of Wisconsin ; J. F. Cleghorn, P.G.C.T., 
C. H. Knight, S. D. Hastings, P.E.W.G.T., and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 435 

A. E. Seymour, of Wisconsin ; A. C. Folsom, G. S., 
and T. D. Kanouse, G.C.T., of Dakota; H. B. Quick, 
G.C.T., of Minnesota ; Charles Williams, G.S., of Ohio ; 
Mrs. A. A. Brookbank, R.W.G.S.J.T., of Indiana; 
Eli Miller, G.C.T., of Indiana ; Professor Samuel Dickie, 
of Albion College, Michigan ; George R. Scott, of the 
New York Weekly Witness ; Colonel Long, of Illinois ; 
John Sobieski, of Missouri ; Mrs. Ada C. Bittenbender, 
representative of the Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union of Lincoln, Neb. ; Hon. A. J. Sawyer, Mayor of 
Lincoln, sent to represent the city, by the citizens of Lin- 
coln, irrespective of party ; ex-Mayor H. W. Hardy, sent 
to represent the State Prohibition Party of Nebraska ; R. 
R. Randall, sent to represent the Red Ribbon Club in Lin- 
coln ; Charles L. Abbott, G.C.T., representing the Grand 
Lodge of Massachusetts ; Frank P. Dyer, representing 
the Prohibition Party of Massachusetts ; Rev. A. A. 
Williams, representing the Sons of Temperance, and many 
others. 

The funeral services at the house were opened by the 
Chicago Quartet, singing in an impressive manner " Come 
unto Me," after which Rev. Frederick Clat worthy, pastor 
of the Baptist Church of Evanston, led in prayer. Dr. 
Sylvester Jones, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
in Evanston, read a portion of the impressive burial-service 
of the Church, and Dr. A. J. Jutkins delivered the follow- 
ing address : 



436 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

ct 2 Samuel 1 : 17. I cannot resist the impression that we are stand- 
ing like a group of soldiers around a fallen chief. Someway, thoughts 
and metaphors relating to a conflict press so strongly as to push out 
other forms and expressions. It is an occasion which focuses so many 
and such important events that personal interests, even those which are 
near and tender, are pushed aside, as they are at the time of a great con- 
flict. We cannot lose sight of the personal bereavement, the tender rela- 
tions of family and friendship, but, on the other hand, we cannot forget 
that the eyes of hundreds of thousands are turned toward this spot 
to-day, and the thoughts of these are busy with the questions suggested 
by the occasion. 

' ■ However useful our fallen friend may have been in life, we cannot 
think otherwise than that this is the supreme moment for his influence, 
when the seal of permanency is set upon the work that he undertook. 

" Mr. Finch's life, short as it was, covered all the phases of what is 
known as the temperance reform, and which are now the subject of 
thought and discussion. "We are able to judge of their comparative 
merits by grouping them in connection with Mr. Finch's life and view- 
ing them in the light of the present. 

" Ten years ago the temperance reform was in the stage known as the 
' ribbon period,' or a certain phase of moral suasive work. It was argued 
that the traffic in intoxicating liquors could be entirely suppressed if 
the people steadily refused to buy, and this was a truth too plain for 
discussion. Enthusiastic men, like Murphy and Eeynolds, and equally 
enthusiastic women, like the crusaders of that period or a little earlier, 
were confident that they had only to push forward in the line along 
which they were working, and success of a most pronounced and thor- 
ough character would attend their efforts. It was joyfully proclaimed 
that so greatly had the receipts for intoxicating liquors fallen off that 
the beer brewers in their annual meeting were bewailing the loss of their 
trade, and serious apprehensions were felt, which embodied themselves 
in resolutions and the appointment of committees to oppose total 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 437 

abstinence and the temperance legislation in the various States. This 
may be called, for the sake of distinguishing it, the moral suasive period 
of the reform in the present generation. A similar wave of reform in 
the preceding generation was called the Washingtonian movement. 
Both exhibited the same characteristics ; both promised speedy and 
peaceful success ; both utterly failed. I think I hazard nothing in saying 
that there is not a single thoroughly honest and faithful worker in this 
stage of the reform, who kept on in his work, but found himself pushed 
forward into another phase of the reform, which we will presently notice. 
Mr. Finch is only a sample of others who have achieved more or less 
prominence following along the same road, and who have arrived at the 
same goal. 

" The next phase of work in which we find him engaged was an effort 
to utilize the laws already existing. This is another method of work to 
which our attention is often called, and it is insisted that if we use the 
laws already existing we can accomplish more than can be done by any 
legal method. He tried this thoroughly, as have his co-workers. He 
accomplished what is usually accomplished — namely, awakening the 
wrath of the liquor fraternity. They attacked him in his property, his 
person, and his reputation. Upon all these fields Mr. Finch fought his 
battles just as literally as did the Apostle Paul with the beasts at 
Ephesus. 

" This stage of temperance work is not likely to last very long with 
any earnest and honest man before putting him at something else, and 
that something else is the next thing in which we find him engaged — 
namely, the reformation of the law and the enactment of a law meant 
to suppress, not to embarrass or to prevent excesses, as is the case with 
so many laws on our statute-books. In the session of the Nebraska 
Legislature of 1881, Mr. Finch earnestly championed the bill to submit 
a prohibitory constitutional amendment to a vote of the people. After 
this bill failed to pass, he gave his influence toward the passage of the 
famous high-license law — then an untried experiment. When one 



438 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

understands it, it is not surprising that at this stage of development Mr. 
Finch, like many others, considered it a step forward. No man can sell 
liquor under this law except in communities sufficiently depraved to 
furnish him the consent of thirty freeholders who will sign his petition. 
He must then procure citizens who will give bonds of $5000, with which 
to pay the damages resulting, and he then must pay $1000 license fee. 
It was thoroughly believed that this law would close a large part of the 
saloons in the State, while it would hold in restraint those crime centres 
in which the saloons might survive. For years Mr. Finch made no secret 
of the fact that he was terribly mistaken in his views. This seems to 
have been the only instance in which this clear thinker failed in his cal- 
culations as to the proper remedy for the liquor crime. His experience 
and the experience of those that stood with him furnish an answer com- 
plete and triumphant to all the so-called high-license schemes that can 
be devised. I cannot but regard this Nebraska experience as Providen- 
tially permitted to enable the temperance reformers of this age to refute, 
not in theory, but as the result of actual experience, the plausible argu- 
ments given in favor of high license. No such high-license law as the 
one in Nebraska, for efficiency, has been proposed, and this is an utter 
and miserable failure. 

" The next phase of the work in which we find Mr. Finch engaged is 
the Good Templar organization. He believed in this body thoroughly. 
He believed in it because it educated the children and made provisions 
to that end. He believed in it because it brought men and women 
together upon a common level, making no distinction in their official 
relations or political power. He resented always the thrusting forward 
of sex or race idea as the reasons for official position. In the Good 
Templar Order he found what he believed in this regard. It affords the 
equal privilege of thought, of holding official positions, of speaking and 
using their powers to the extent of their ability, and a fair interpretation 
of his views cannot be given without taking this fact into account. He 
believed in this Order because he observed that a very large portion of 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 439 

those who were most actively engaged in the temperance work had been 
educated in the Good Templar Lodge. When he became the head of the 
organization he brought all his organizing power to encourage the Order 
and make it the most efficient temperance organization in the world. It 
was a part of his plan to heal the breach between the British and American 
sections at the earliest possible moment. How successfully he achieved 
this Herculean task and with what enthusiastic congratulations all parties 
received the result at the Saratoga meeting last May, those who belong 
to the Order and are familiar with its work will readily attest. 

"I reserve to the last that phase of the work which has met with the 
most opposition, and around which gathers the largest measure of inter- 
est, because it is the culmination and crown of all his work, the work 
which is the logical outcome of every earnest and honest thing that has 
gone before it — his connection with the Prohibition Party. This may 
be dated from the year 1882, at the reorganization of the party, when the 
effort for a distinct party propaganda took shape and form. With this 
effort he had the most hearty sympathy and lent to it his entire strength. 
In whatever form an effort was made to secure a prohibitory law, you 
might count on him for aid to the full measure of his ability. Hence in 
Kansas in the battle for constitutional prohibition, in Iowa during a 
similar fight, as well as in every Northern State where the effort has 
been made, Mr. Finch's voice has been raised and his best efforts have 
been put forth. But in all this there was a growing conviction in his 
mind that all these efforts would fail because they did not measure up 
to the occasion, and would be inadequate for the accomplishment of the 
work in hand. The banishment of the saloon, involving as it does the 
overthrow of the liquor traffic, is a task comparable only to the over- 
throw of African slavery in our country. It is a grave question which of 
these two presents the greatest difficulties. This conviction grew upon 
Mr. Finch, as it does upon every person who gives it the right of way, 
until his mind was possessed with the belief that not until the majority 
of the American people were organized for the purpose of suppressing 



440 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the liquor traffic would they be able to accomplish their aim. It might, 
indeed, be driven out of this or that particular county or town, shifting 
from place to place, but when the tug of war came and the question was 
on driving it out entirely, it would be found that there was a malignity 
and a power before which none but the best organized forces of the re- 
public would be able to make a successful stand. Possessed with this 
conviction, Mr. Finch set himself to the task of arousing the American 
people and securing an answer to the single question, ' On which side 
are you ? ' To bring this question home to every citizen and to secure 
an honest answer was the supreme work of his life during these later 
years. It was a joy to him to be able to take the question before the 
immense audiences that greeted him everywhere, and to look into the 
faces of the American people, and to plead with them to give a candid 
answer to this question. So fully was he equipped for this work that 
few of us were able to believe that he was gifted with any special apti- 
tude for political management. In this, however, we were mistaken. 
He surprisingly measured up to the greatness of the occasion that arose. 
In the St. John campaign he became aware that the most desperate effort 
would be made to stampede the prohibition vote in the State of New 
York. He realized from a political standpoint how disastrous this would 
be, and set himself to work with all his energy to hold the vote that had 
been cast for Mr. Hopkins two years before, and, if possible, to make 
some addition to it. With an eye single to this one purpose he labored, 
and with a success which, under the circumstances, constituted one of 
the most surprising chapters of his life history. It was one of his char- 
acteristics that with so many appointments and occasions for work that 
came to him, far more than he could possibly fill, he selected with rare 
judgment those strategic points where he would count for the most. 

1 ' By nature Mr. Finch was incisive — perhaps we may say sharp and 
sarcastic. A born leader, he was, of course, combative, and it was not 
his nature to stop and consider how he was hurting his antagonist. In 
this regard he had probably something to overcome in order to reach the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 441 

highest level of effectiveness as an advocate. The quality to gain the 
attention and to some extent the sympathy of his audience was not as 
well developed in him as in some speakers. In my mind, it was one of 
the most remarkable achievements of his life that he was able, as it 
seemed to me, as I saw him from time to time, to grow more and more 
kindly, gentle, and charitable as the years went by. This was especially 
true during these last years. I am sure that it must have been a subject 
of especial reflection with him, or he could hardly have attained so great 
success in this direction. His great forte was to place the truth lumi- 
nously before his audience. This tendency and his success in this direc- 
tion, the seven lectures printed under the editorship of the Hon. S. D. 
Hastings, and largely circulated especially among the Good Templars, 
bear abundant evidence. These lectures touch the subject upon which 
they treat with the hand of a master, and the clear, unanswerable logic 
challenges debate. 

" I am not able to speak with any especial definiteness and certainty 
upon the religious views of Mr. Finch, perhaps because we were too 
much alike — both too reticent upon some subjects. He seemed to have 
been cast in the order of Providence into the Methodist Church, and 
became a member of it before he left New York. I judge that he was 
not actively identified with the Church during his residence in Nebraska. 
When he removed to Evanston, he gave his name to Dr. Ridgaway as a 
probationer in the Methodist church in this place. These facts lead us 
to believe that Mr. Finch regarded the Methodist Church as the embodi- 
ment of religious truth which he in the main preferred. I venture to 
believe that his admiration for much which passes for religion in our 
times was not of a very high order. Indeed, I regard it as a matter of 
wonder that he and many others did not drift, as did the old anti-slavery 
reformers, many of them, into positive hostility to the Church. I am 
able to account for it only when I remember that it fell out under the 
good providence of God that Mr. Finch and his fellow-laborers were 
brought into close contact with some very remarkable women, who com- 



442 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

, bined with rare intellectual power and intense earnestness in temper- 
ance work, an intense religious spirit. In one way and another, Mr. 
Finch was brought into especially close contact with this group of 
women. I am persuaded that they influenced him more, perhaps, than 
he was aware of. He was brought into circumstances that exhibited 
whatever was best and most sympathetic with himself, among active 
Church people. I account it one of the especial providences of God 
that the temperance reform in its present aspect has been, as I believe, 
kept from following the track of Garrison, Phillips, Parker, Leroy 
Sunderland, and so many others of that olden time of the slave power, 
which has now become historic. All the conditions are favorable for 
driving off into hostility to the Church the earnest workers for prohibi- 
tion. There is the same rigid conservatism that can never have signs 
and wonders enough. There is the same pitiful apology for non-action, 
the same exasperating misrepresentations which were the burden of the 
anti- slavery reformers in the first half of our century. And what makes 
this so much the worse, the sinning now is against light and knowledge. 
No such precedent had been established for the anti-slavery reformers 
as has been established for us in our times. Step by step the prohibi- 
tion reform puts on the same aspect that the anti-slavery reform put on. 
History repeats itself with a fidelity that is sickening in its worst aspects, 
but also inspiring on its bright side. All these things Mr. Finch saw 
with perfect clearness, and yet constantly grew more and more kindly 
in his feelings toward the Church and Church people. Neither in private 
conversation nor in public discourse did he assume the attitude of de- 
nunciation. This was not by any means because he was indifferent, and 
I can only attribute it to growing patience, the patience which was by 
no means natural to him, and entirely out of harmony with his impet- 
uous nature. 

" Mr. Finch represented in his own person the ideal temperance man 
of 1887. He was a diligent worker in all the lines of moral suasion 
work. His selected organization was the Order of Good Templars. He 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 443 

believed in it, and gave it his best energies. But he also had a good 
word for any other method of work. Among his closest friends was Dr. 
Eugene Clapp, of Boston, the head of the Sons of Temperance, and if 
Miss Willard were here she would testify to the cordial relations existing 
between herself and Mr. Finch. But when all was done that could be 
through appeals to the conscience and personal interest, if the sacred 
function of government as it is intrusted to American citizens is not 
exerted to suppress the liquor traffic, it is building an arch and leaving 
the key-stone out. To work for temperance, or even for prohibition, no 
matter how diligently, and then vote for the parties which stand for 
license, was to his mind so gross an inconsistency as to be relieved from 
the character of crime only by an equally gross ignorance. For a man 
to sin was bad enough, but for a great and wise people, with Christian 
teachers by the thousands, to seriously enact into law a system so in- 
fernal as the saloon system of this country, and for a price let loose on 
the American youth, an army of tempters two hundred thousand strong, 
supplied with the most seductive and potent instrument of ruin ever 
discovered by man, seemed to him an enormity passing all bounds. Yet 
he did not rant and defeat his purpose by passionate denunciation. 
Patiently he waited the opening of the seals. He was sure that, as in 
1856, so, before very long, the break would come, and the good citizens 
would be found on the right side. Like a thoroughly self-possessed 
watchman who discovers a fire in his premises, he set himself to the task 
of putting it out with all the means at his disposal. 

" His life was short, but he was permitted to accomplish more than 
most men who live twice as long. He was doing what he felt to be a 
duty, and it was a duty which all the time pushed him nearer to God. 
His last letter had in it two letters he rarely used, and with his hatred 
of cant they had meaning ; ' I will be,' he said, ' in such a place, D. V.' 

" Well may we exclaim, ' The beauty of Israel is slain on the high 
places.' How are the mighty fallen. Take him for all in all, it will be 
long before we shall see his peer." 



444 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

After the address all present were permitted to look upon 
the silent face, so life-like that it seemed he must soon 
waken to resume his work. 

Four Grand Chief Templars, E. W. Chafin, of Wis- 
consin, H. B. Quick, of Minnesota, Charles L. Abbott, of 
Massachusetts, and Eli Miller, of Indiana, together with 
four representatives of the Prohibition Party, S. H. King, 
of Nebraska, Samuel Dickie, of Michigan, George E. Scott, 
of the .New York Pioneer, and J. A. Yan Fleet, of the 
Lever, acted as pall-bearers. 

The funeral cortege proceeded to Kose Hill Cemetery in 
carriages. Under the charge of George C. Christian, who 
directed the services at the vault, several hundred Good 
Templars, wearing regalia, were drawn up in line on either 
side of the avenue, when the carriages arrived from Evans- 
ton. 

Mr. Finch had expressed the desire to be buried with the 
Good Templar ceremonies and in a quiet and unostentatious 
manner. 

Agreeably to his wishes, the impressive Good Templar 
burial-service was read by Dr. Oronhyatekha, P.R.W.G.C., 
Samuel D. Hastings, P.R.W.G.T., and Theodore D. Ka- 
nouse, P.R.W.G.T. 

Short addresses were made by Rev. A. A. Williams and 
Frank P. Dyer, of Massachusetts, Samuel Dickie, of Michi- 
gan, and George R. Scott, of New York. Mr. Scott said : 
' 1 1 am here to keep a promise made to Mr. Finch. One 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 445 

Sabbath morning, while standing near the tomb that con- 
tained the body of President Garfield, an agreement was 
made between our brother and myself, that the one who 
should survive would attend the funeral of the other. 

" As Mr. Finch never broke a promise he made me, I 
could not break the solemn one made him. I loved the 
deceased because he was a manly man, a kindly man ; true 
to his friends and honest to his enemies. The lesson of the 
occasion is so to live that when death comes, we shall be all 
ready to meet the great change. " 

The remains were then placed in the vault, and the sor- 
rowing friends in sad procession returned to their homes. 

Kest, noble chieftain, thy warfare is done ; 

The world will be better for what thou hast wrought, 
And many a battle for God will be won 

Because of the truth and the right that ye taught. 

Rest, brother, rest, in that city of silence, 

Whose seal on thy lips is eternally set. 
There lingers a sound of thy voice in the battle, 

And temperance legions will follow it yet. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

IN MEM0RIAM. 

/~\N the day of the funeral in Evanston memorial ser- 
^S vices were held in a large number of cities and vil- 
lages in America and Great Britain, and later in almost 
every country of the civilized world. 

The most notable of the services on Sunday, October 9th, 
were those held in the Opera House in Lincoln, Neb., and 
in Chickering Hall, New York City. 

The Nebraska State Journal , in its report of the Lincoln 
meeting, says : 

"In Lincoln the demonstration of grief was perhaps more marked 
than in any other city. Lincoln still claimed Mr. Finch as a citizen. 

" In Nebraska his fame was made ; in Lincoln he received the support 
and assistance enabling him to begin the work that brought him so 
prominently before the nation. To the temperance people of this city 
he was not only a leader, but a personal friend. He had worked for 
their cause in the country at large, and he had fought side by side with 
them in their local conflicts. The shock of his death to the temperance 
army at large was severe. It was doubly felt in Lincoln. 

" At two o'clock od Sunday afternoon the Opera House was completely 
filled with an audience representing all grades of society, with members 
of the various temperance organizations and churches predominating in 
numbers. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 447 

" The balcony posts and private boxes were tastefully draped in 
mourning. The stage was flanked by American flags caught up with 
bows of crape. At the rear of the speakers and musicians was an im- 
mense receding panel with a portrait of Mr. Finch in the focus, illumi- 
nated by a locomotive headlight hidden in the scenery. Flowers and 
decorations were placed on other parts of the stage. The house was 
darkened, and the audience was solemnly attentive through the impres- 
sive exercises. 

" A song, ' On Jordan's Stormy Banks,' was sung by the congregation 
in opening. A Scripture lesson was read by Rev. E. H. Chapin, and a 
feeling prayer was offered by Elder John T. Smith. ' Nearer My God to 
Thee ' preceded the announcement of the first speaker. 

HON. G. M. LAMBEBTSON, 

United States District Attorney, whose subject was ' Mr. Finch's Intro- 
duction to Nebraska as an Orator, ' spoke as follows : 

" ' When a man has borne a leading part in any great cause, it is fit 
that his labors be emphasized and life commemorated by appropriate 
memorial exercises. 

" ' This tribute should come not alone from his friends and immediate 
relatives, prompted by affection, but from those who have felt the im- 
pulse of his thought and the spur of his energy and example. The 
people of Lincoln should esteem it their especial privilege to join in any 
manifestation of regard for the departed ; for he was to many of them a 
benefactor. 

" ' However we may differ in our estimate of Mr. Finch's character, 
we must admit, aye, affirm, that he did great good to this community. 
There are men in this audience who have been reclaimed from the 
thraldom of appetite by his potent eloquence. There are wives that will 
bless his name because he restored happiness to the domestic fireside. 
There are sons who will bless his memory because he saved them from 
crime, from poverty, from misery, from despair. If the words of Scrip- 



448 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

ture are always and forever true, " that no drunkard shall ever enter the 
kingdom of heaven,'' then what a debt of gratitude we owe him if but a 
single soul was saved from a drunkard's doom. Mr. Finch came to Lin- 
coln some eleven years ago, shortly after the Temple of Honor was 
organized and had swept this city in a whirlwind of reform. Mr. God- 
frey was the originator of that movement, and there has never been a 
reform that has ploughed itself so deeply into the public mind ; and the 
present strong, moral, and healthy temperance sentiment owes its origin 
to that movement. Mr. Finch was not in any sense the originator of 
that temperance revival, but he ultimately became a member of the 
Temple of Honor, and in the end largely contributed to its work. Mr. 
Finch came here as the apostle of the Red Ribbon Society. The Temple 
of Honor was somewhat exclusive in its character, and shut its doors for 
a time to all men who were not of good social standing. Mr. Finch's 
work supplemented and rounded out the mission of the Temple of 
Honor. He reached his hand down into the gutter and put on his feet 
many a man whom the Temple of Honor believed past redemption. 
His first appearance in the old Opera House marked him a matchless 
temperance orator. His welcome was enthusiastic because it was appar- 
ent that he was a host in himself. Here was a man who could stand in 
the arena of debute and cope with all comers. The old Scotch proverb 
" Many are the friends of the golden tongue," found its fulfilment, for 
he became Lincoln's popular orator. He was the only man here who 
was always sure of a crowded house. He possessed a good voice, digni- 
fied appearance, matchless courage, and a good vocabulary. He was 
king in the realm of facts, potent in the touch of pathos, and irresistible 
in his sallies of humor. He was always aggressive in speech, bitter in 
denunciation, and at times downright fanatical. He at times exhausted 
the epithets of the dictionary in his condemnation of the liquor traffic. 
He believed with Wendell Phillips that tbe great mass of the people can 
never be made to stay and argue a question long ; that they must be 
made to feel through the hides of their idols ; that when you send the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 449 

spear into the rhinoceros hide of a public man, all the people felt it. 
Hence he hurt many a man with the diamond point of a fatal epithet. 
As he turned over the pages of our social life and saw the stain of tho 
widow's tear, the stigma of a wife's disgrace, the blot of a husband's 
dishonor, the crimson spot from the hand of a murderer, and realized 
that the same power was responsible for it, and for three fourths of all 
the poverty, misery, and crime in the world, every fibre of his being 
throbbed resentful, and in the white heat of a righteous indignation his 
denunciation of what he believed to be the common enemy was most 
severe and powerful. He would not dally nor parley with this enemy. 
He would not compromise, he would accept no half way or middle 
ground. He would not tolerate the license system, nothing but absolute, 
unconditional surrender was his motto. Otherwise it was a fight to the 
death. While we cannot all agree with him, at least, I cannot wholly 
approve of his course, yet we must all admire the unconquerable valor 
with which he fought this good fight, even to the end. He died in the 
harness. That heart which had for so long beaten in unison with the 
better impulses of our time missed a single beat, and the tribune of the 
people is dead. Heaven all at once became avaricious and was not con- 
tent to wait for its human harvest until the whitening and bending head 
was bowed to the earth by the weight of years, but seized him in the 
very vigor of his manhood. Scientists tell us that the human heart, 
which beats so constantly, never resting, never tiring, if directed against 
the granite pillar, would wear it to dust in the course of a single life- 
time. The heart beats of the lamented dead prompted many a word and 
deed that made serious breaches in the walls of the fortresses of the rum 
power, and his death will quicken the pulse of every one interested in 
this reform, so that in time the walls may be wholly levelled.' 

MRS. S. H. KING 

next spoke upon ' Mr. Finch's Relation to the Order of Good Templars.' 
She told of Mr. Finch when he was a law student in New York and of 



450 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

the inducements held out by the Good Templars of Lincoln that finally 
resulted in his removal to the West. His work here was reviewed at 
length, and many incidents were related showing the grandeur of his 
character, the steadfastness of his purpose, and his pure-hearted unsel- 
fishness. 

" The hymn ' Bock of Ages ' intervened between the remarks of Mrs. 
King and the discussion of Mr. Finch's relation to the Woman's Chris- 
tian Temperance Union, by 

MRS. M. E. EOBEETS. 

" Mrs. Roberts remembered distinctly the first appearance of Mr. 
Finch before their Union. How he urged upon them the necessity of 
steadfast prayer, for without it they could not meet with success. He 
had shown himself to be a good and a pure man, and when his hour of 
adversity came, when the enemy attacked his good name, the women of 
Lincoln were glad to hold a public meeting to do all they could to vin- 
dicate him before the eyes of the world. His work is not finished. It 
is just beginning. The God of battle leads, and the grand cause will 
move forward. 

"'Come, ye Disconsolate ' was sung with feeling by Miss Lillus S. 
Peck, the glee club and the congregation joining in the refrain. 

COLONEL GEOEGE B. SKINNER, 

for ten years President of the Lincoln Red Ribbon Club, next spoke of 
• Mr. Finch's Relation to the Red Ribbon Club.' 

" ' Mr. Finch came to Lincoln in 1877 and delivered twenty-one lec- 
tures in succession. During these lectures he converted to the temper- 
ance faith a good many men from all classes of society. A short time 
after the close of these lectures he called upon me to help him organize 
a Red Ribbon Club, which I did, and hired a hall for one year, and 
opened the meeting with a membership of seventeen old soakers, who 
had sworn to live a sober life. This was the start of the Red Ribbon 
Club which Mr. Finch, nine years afterward in this city, complimented 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 451 

by saying that this club surpassed in point of numbers, influence, and 
power any temperance club known in this country. 

" ' Mr. Finch went from here all over the State, organizing fifty or 
sixty clubs. I called a State Red Ribbon Convention, and over four 
hundred delegates responded to the call. This gave temperance work a 
great impetus outside of the regular organizations. Our club received a 
great deal of help from Mr. Finch every time he came to the State. 
He regarded it as a good thing. Everybody could come in, drunk or 
sober. I must tell what the club has done, as it redounds to his glory. 
Since the organization of this club over sixteen thousand persons have 
signed the pledge, and while many have gone back, hundreds are left 
who have kept the faith.'. 

A. G. WOLFENBARGER 

was introduced by the chairman of the meeting. His subject was ' Mr. 
Finch as a Party Leader. ' He said : 

" ' Thousands of men have been born rich, but no man has been born 
great. The laurel wreath of fame, woven by jealous fingers, must ever 
rest upon that brow beneath whose arches glow the restless and un. 
quenchable fires of a genius burnished by incessant toil. Some essen- 
tials there are to successful leadership common to all who move the 
world's great armies : 

" * 1; Intelligence to plan. 

" ' 2. Force of will and grasp of others' confidence to carry out that 
plan. 

" ' 3. Courage to grapple with overwhelming obstacles, supplemented 
by a happy faculty to inspire and harmonize human forces. 

"*4. Beneath these must lie the solid granite foundation of a cause 
worth fighting and dying for. 

' ' ' That all these elements were sublimely blended in the rounded 
character of John B. Finch none will deny. But the short span of 
a life but half begun is sadly insufficient to test a general's power. 



452 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Lying before us as an open book, the page torn rudely out at thirty-five, 
we read what has been written, and stand in mingled sorrow and admi- 
ration beside an early tomb. In all that makes the leader grandly great 
this dauntless knight of the new crusade was equipped. "With a lawyer's 
keen analysis he studied American constitutions and drank in his coun- 
try's history. Schooled in the noble struggles and partial successes of 
moral suasion societies, he sought to supplement their good beginnings 
with more enduring work. The organized enemies of society and pure 
government were intrenched behind the protecting bulwarks of social 
customs and written law. The assassin of all peace, virtue, public and 
private morality stood with drawn dagger, reeking with the blood of 
millions of murdered victims, ready to stab the dearest institutions of 
this republic to the heart. The lion manhood of free America had 
sneaked to cowards' tents, and the while hands of women and the 
pinched and pale faces of starving childhood were uplifted in pleading 
for protection. The tranced spirits of illustrious forefathers filled the 
fretted air, and God's angel came forth to gird the loins of a champion. 

" ' The executive experience of John B. Finch, as chief of the Eight 
"Worthy Grand Lodge of the world's Good Templars, was of great value. 
His long and laborious lecture tours had left his name in almost every 
Christian household throughout the land. Unsought fame had already 
set her shining mark on the orator' s head when the Pittsburg Conven 
tion of 1884 named him as the Chairman of the National Committee of 
the Prohibition Party. 

"'Amid the bitterest political struggle that had occurred since the 
war, the prohibition national campaign of 1884 was conducted. The 
highest Presidential vote reached in any Presidential contest prior to 
1884 was only about 11,000. "With only a few weeks in which to plan 
his campaign and conduct the canvass in the various States, Mr. Finch 
succeeded in calling forth a vote of 152,000 for ex-Governor St. John. 

" ' He never acknowledged discouragement. His presence in a State 
set hundreds at work. He was the best organizer this reform ever saw. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 453 

His arraignment of the liquor politicians and parties of the country was 
an indictment from which his opponents instinctively shrank, not 
caring to plead in defence. "When a great contest was over he would 
congratulate the workers and urge immediate organization for future 
fights. He kept the party growing. With him it was a battle to the 
death, and temporary defeat was only the signal for renewed action. 

" ' I have no doubt that this great leader fell as he might have chosen 
— in the field with his face to the foe — for he loved the battle-field only 
less than victory. 

" ' The work he so grandly inaugurated will go on till the cause he 
fought so nobly for will win. His princely form and commanding voice 
are hidden and hushed forever, but the inspiration of his leadership 
will linger to cheer us through the irrepressible conflict. 

" ' ""Lay him to sleep whom we have learned to love, 

Lay him to sleep whom we have learned to trnst ; 
Fresh flowers of faith shall spring from out his dust, 
Bright stars of hope shall shine his sod above. 1 " 

" The song ' My Eedeemer ' preceded the remarks upon ' Mr. Finch's 
Work in the Elevation of the Home, ' by 

HON. O. P. MASON, EX-CHIEF JUSTICE OF NEBRASKA. 

" ' Death is at all times terrible to the living, whether it comes to the 
smiling infant in its cold embrace or to venerable and decrepit age, with 
its experience and wisdom. And the terror of the shock is greatly in- 
tensified when it comes to those in the full vigor of life and takes the 
strong and useful to the silent halls of death to become the companion 
of the mute grave worm and repose in the silent tomb. In such a case 
the loss to humanity, to society, and the world is irreparable. But 
nature, even here, holds out the rainbow tints of hope to cheer the 
mourning heart and encourage activity and usefulness in a field where 
avarice, selfishness, and jealousy are unknown ; where ambition for the 



454 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

full recognition of the brotherhood of humanity and the fatherhood of 
God is greatly intensified. This at least is the hope I entertain for my 
departed friend. 

I " ' We all know the powers of his mind and his enthusiastic feelings 
were enlisted in the cause in which he took part, and so deeply was he 
interested, so persuaded of the justice of his side of the question, that 
he was never known to admit the advocates of his cause to be wrong. 
If doubts were suggested by the opposite party, he would repel them in 
an instant as if they reflected upon his honor and judgment. The power 
of his eloquence was supreme in the cause which he advocated. When 
he spoke the audience chamber was thronged, and none listened without 
a tribute of admiration. He continued in his labors with a constantly 
increasing reputation until called hence. He loved humanity and 
labored for its elevation. In the cause which he represented it may be 
truthfully said : 

n i a rpjjjg wag ^g nosiest Roman of them all ; 

********* 

He only, in a general honest thought, 

And common good to all, made one of them. 

His life was gentle ; and the elements 

So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up 

And say to all the world : This was a man ! " 

" 'According to his deeds and his virtues let us honor his memory 
and with all respect and rites of esteem, commemorate his noble acts in 
a good cause. 

" ' He labored to make his country the eagle's nest of freedom and 
not alone the cradle of infant liberty. He was assailed by the whirl- 
winds of rage and passion ; but he remained calm amid the fury of the 
storm, guiding the cause he represented to success and victory. The 
greatest man is he who chooses the right with invincible resolutions ; 
who resists the severest temptations from within and without ; who 
bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully ; who is calmest in storms and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 455 

most fearless under menace and frowns, and whose reliance on truth, 
on virtue, and on God is most unfaltering. Tried by this standard, the 
deceased must take rank among the good and great. There is yet another 
test. The true test of a great man — that, at least, which must secure his 
place among the highest order of great men — is his having been in ad- 
vance of his age ; and when tried by this standard the deceased was 
truty great. He was foremost in the cause he represented and far in 
advance of his age. He is good who does good to others, and if he suf- 
fers for the good he does he is better still, and if he suffers from them 
to whoru he did good, he is arrived at the height of goodness, to which 
nothing but an increase of his suffering can add. If it proves his 
death, his virtue is at its summit ; it is heroism complete. Earth's 
highest station ends in " Here he lies." And dust to dust concludes 
the noblest song, and he is not great who is not greatly good.' 

" The last speaker of the afternoon was Dr. C. F. Creighton, pastor of 
St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. His remarks were substantially 
as follows : 

" ' This audience, what a tribute ! In other cities what expressions 
of regard are being manifested to-day ! How they indicate the character 
of the individual ! These are Christian audiences. The Christian audi- 
ences of the world have been inspired and moulded by the Christian 
lips that are now passing to dust. 

" ' Keformers like Mr. Finch are the outgrowth of the Christian 
Church. No other institution produces them, and not only so, but the 
material which these reformers use to elevate the world is found in the 
Church. His relations with the Christian world were vital. 

" ' The Christian people, the more cultivated and Christianized people 
of the nation, want to settle the liquor question. In your hands lies the 
settlement of the liquor traffic. On this line John B. Finch occupies 
a position from which his influence for good goes out like the light from 
a beacon. He is dead, but the cause will go on after his death. 

" ' Mr. Finch was one of the stars of the first magnitude that occupy 



456 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

places in the firmament. Man} 7 have been blotted out, and we say they 
are dead. Is Shakespeare dead ? We know that he lives in the litera- 
ture of every nation and yet speaks to millions through his wonderful 
poems and tragedies. Is John B. Gough dead ? Is his influence dead ? 
No. John B. Finch is not dead. I believe that is one of the great 
headlights of progress that go dashing on into the trackless void and 
summon and show the way for the advance of civilization. 

' ' ' John B. Finch was the bitter enemy of the liquor traffic. Now the 
arm that was lifted against it has fallen. The soul that fought it so 
gallantly is now crowned among the martyrs. 

" ' Thank God for such men. 

" ' The liquor traffic to-day rules this nation as an unlimited mon- 
archy. This John B. Finch died in fighting, and to-day we can do no 
more than to shed a tear over his dust and drop a laurel, and thank God 
that even his dust is left us. God never forgets His own dead. Our 
hopes are fired by the thought that He will breathe upon the dust where 
his sainted dead sleeps, and lift him up as a monument of those who 
have died for others. If God reigns he shall be crowned.' 

" 'Sweet By and By,' by the glee club and the audience, and the 
benediction, by Bev. J. T. Minehart, brought the exercises to a close." 

The National Temperance Society issued a pamphlet 
containing a complete report of the Chickering Hall ser- 
vices on the same day. From that pamphlet the following 
extracts from the addresses are made : 

ADDRESS OF THEODORE L. CUYLER, D.D. 

' * Feiends and Fellow- Woekees : The eloquent voice that was to have 
rung through this hall this afternoon, with its thrilling inspiration, is 
silent, because it has passed into the harmonies of the heavenly world. 
It has been my privilege during the last five-and-forty years to be ac- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 457 

quainted with about all the leaders of the Temperance Keform, from the 
pioneer days of Lyman Beecher, and Father Mathew, and Delavan, and 
Jewett ; but among them all no other man at the early age of thirty-five 
had wrought so wide a work and had so wide a reputation as John B. 
Finch. He was every inch a man in his superb physique, and with his 
smile as sweet as summer. Strange, brethren, to think it has gone off 
that face — in his manly bearing, in the courage of his convictions, in his: 
large charity, and in his heroic consecration to the glorious work of sal- 
vation for his fellow-men. Well, on the single question of policy his 
judgment and mine differed ; differed frankly ; differed fraternally ; dif- 
fered generously as fellow-workers ought if ever on any point they differ. 
My Brother Finch was an intensely earnest partisan Prohibitionist. I 
have been decidedly from conviction a non-partisan Prohibitionist, and 
yet not one whit the less do I always honor the zeal and intrepidity with 
which he marched up to the uttermost limit of his highest convictions. 
Wherever I saw the flash of that cimeter or heard that glorious voice 
ringing out in the forefront of the battle, I said, ' Go on, brother ; your 
blows are telling against the common foe. You are fighting for the vic- 
tory of our one great cause ; for the salvation of our fellow-men and of 
our land from the most perfidious and cruel of curses and of despot- 
isms.' My friend Finch was a brilliant political orator and sagacious 
political strategist, but he was a great deal more than that. His fire- 
like sagacity made him more than that, for behind the terrific ramparts 
of the liquor traffic belching oat fire, blood, death, and damnation, he 
saw the drinking usages and labored with all his might and main to 
remove them. Behind the ballot-box he recognized a popular con- 
science, and addressed himself to it, and felt that only reform in all its 
aspects could be carried on by a public conscience leavened with truth 
and held firm by this conviction of the everlasting right. And more 
than that. John B. Finch was a man of God, a sincere, devout, child- 
like follower of Jesus Christ, and the sword he wielded was the sword 
fashioned in heaven. It wrought mightily. The hand that held it has 



458 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

been stricken with death, but the sword — the sword survives. Other 
hands will take it up. Others are marching with it through the breach 
unto victory. Unless I misread his brief, beautiful life, no part of it 
was more fruitful or will live longer than that part which was devoted to 
the leadership of that splendid, world-wide organization of the Good 
Templars. He led them over the whole land and in other lands, for his 
audience-chamber spread from Plymouth Bock to the Pacific, and the 
men listed under its standards were counted by tens of thousands and 
hundreds of thousands. His work goes on. Brethren, comrades, to-day 
we clasp our hands afresh in a vow of everlasting loyalty to the cause 
for which John B. Finch lived, fought, and in which he breathed his 
last breath when God summoned him to his crown. On the early morn- 
ing of the first day at Gettysburg the gallant Beynolds fell, pierced 
through the heart, dropping instantly from his horse. The battle went 
on till at the stone wall broke the crest of the highest wave of the rebel- 
lion. In the forefront of this great fight of the age John B. Finch is 
fallen — suddenly translated. The great fight goes on. The National 
Temperance Society, which I have the honor of representing this after- 
noon, loses one of its noblest officers. Our work goes on. The great 
and beneficent Order of the Good Templars has lost its beloved head. 
The great work goes on. On the morning of the first day of the battle 
against the drinking usages and the dram-shops our leader leaves us. 
But, hark ! hark ! Methinks from the upper spheres I hear that voice 
still sounding, • Brethren, comrades, advance in the name of the Al- 
mighty till to the great cause of prohibition His right hand and His holy 
arm shall give you the victory ! ' 

" You know that when the gallant young Count d'Auvergne fell at his 
post, his name still was kept on the roll, and whenever it was called, some 
one stepped out a few paces to the front and answered, ' Died on the 
field of honor.' John B. Finch's name stands and it will stand, and we 
will call it on the roll, and whenever it is called some one shall, by his 
voluntary effort, step three paces to the front and say, ' Died on the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 459 

field of battle for God and home and native land ; for truth and temper- 
ance and righteousness.' " 

ADDRESS OF GENERAL CLINTON B. FISK. 

" Mr. Pbesident, Friends of the Temperance Union : The tidings of 
the death of John B. Finch carried sorrow to thousands of homes and 
hearts. In no one spot outside of that sacred place where the widow 
and the fatherless boy weep by the side of the dear dead husband and 
father, are there mourners more sincere than this thronging multitude in 
Chickering Hall — here where he was so much beloved, here where we 
hoped fondly to listen to his musical voice on this very day. The Lord 
of Hosts has taken away from our Jerusalem the strong staff, the mighty 
man, the wise counsellor, and the eloquent orator. Since there came 
to us with such suddenness on last Tuesday morning the announcement 
of his death, in our despondency and sense of loss we have been grop- 
ing blindly, crying as children at the translation of this youthful 
prophet, ' My Father, my Father, the chariots of Israel and the horse- 
men thereof.' It is vain to stand here to speak in a few words of John 
B. Finch. We are too near that awful scene. Some other time some 
loving friend who knew him all along # will stand in some proper place 
and paint the picture of this wonderful man. "Wonderfully many-sided, 
combining in his character those natural qualifications, physical and 
mental, which combined in him so many qualities that are ordinarily 
distributed over many persons. He was a close student ; a deep thinker, 
and retained what he read about. He was a wonderful orator with that 
musical voice of his by nature so richly endowed and so highly culti- 
vated. Frank in his expression, his earnest, ardent temperament cleav- 
ing the way into all heads and hearts. By far the most convincing, the 
most impressive speaker I ever listened to on any platform. 

" John B. Finch is dead, and we from our standpoint of human vision 
say, ' We never can fill his place.' It will be difficult to do it ; but 



460 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

remember, my friends, that God lives ; that we have never got to fill His 
place, and it is His cause. He takes us by the hand to-day, reaching 
down amid the unseen forces, and leading us forward in this great battle. 
" A few months ago I stood with him on many platforms in the great 
campaign in Michigan, and when we came into Detroit, there to meet 
the champions of the saloon — for they could be called nothing else — I 
sat in our hotel on that Saturday in March, the 26th, with David Pres- 
ton on one side of me and John B. Finch on the other side. We were 
all worn — we were all weary. Mr. Preston said to me : ' General, you 
are working too hard. We did not bring you to Michigan to kill you. 
Mr. Finch put his hand lovingly upon my arm, and said : ' You must 
stop ; you must go slowly. I will do all the work to-night. You speak 
but a few moments.' And there we three together planned the defence 
— that magnificent defence he gave of our cause before four thousand 
people that evening. A few days afterward Mr. Preston fell as suddenly 
as Mr. Finch fell. Sitting with his family at night, singing the sweet 
song, ' Thus far the Lord hath led me on,' he went to his room, never 
to come forth alive. And on last Monday night this other friend of 
mine, who cautioned me so lovingly, was not, for God took him. 

"Oh, my friends, let us emulate the example of John B. Finch ! You 
young men who listen to me to*day, oh, stand for truth. Turn your 
faces toward the stars and be men. Have the courage of your convic- 
tions, as did this man, and devote all your days to the great cause for 
which he died. We mourn, but, after all, how blessed a thing to die 
as he died ! He died strong. We mourn for him. 
********** 
" ' For him the welcome angel came 
Ere yet his eye grew dim 
Or bent his stately frame. 

" \ His weapon was so bright, 
His shield was lifted high, 
To smite the wrong, protect the right,— 
What happier hour to die ? 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 401 

Our hearts lie buried in the dust 

With him so true and tender, 
And every murmuring heart he still, 
As, bowing to God's sovereign will, 

Our best loved we surrender.' 

* ' Brethren, by the side of these rapidly-opening graves let us come to 
a new consecration, seize the mantle of the ascending prophets, and so 
shall it be said of us when we come to die —they will chant about our 
tombs that elegy of the Church — ' Thanks be to God who giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.' " 

ADDKESS OF KEV. I. K. FUNK. 

" Lamartine in his ' History of Turkey ' tells the story of Mahomet in his 
early career gathering around him his family, who did not as yet believe 
in his claims, and asked them to give him an adherence to those claims. 
He said to them : ' Which of you will be my brother, my substitute, 
my representative ? ' They were terror-stricken at the thought, and 
none answered. By and by the youngest one, but a child, stepped for- 
ward and said : ' Prophet of the Lord, I, in the default of others.' So 
when this greatest of the crusades against intemperance was begun, the 
God of Heaven looked down upon earth, and said : ' Who among you 
all will be My substitute, My representative ? ' The aged among us, the 
wise men of reputation, were silent, almost terrified, at the growing pro- 
portions of the liquor traffic, intrenched as never before behind the 
wealth, social customs, and in the politics of the day. Silent ! At last 
a young man stepped forward and said : ' Lord, I, in the default of 
others.' And as Mahomet, when that young man told him that he in 
the default of others would be his representative, said to them, ' Obey 
him,' so we heard the Divine command say to us all, ' Obey that young 
man.' But thirty-five years of age, and seldom has any leader been so 
implicitly obeyed as has been John B. Finch in these last two years. 



462 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FIXCH. 

i 
Now dead ! John B. Finch dead ! What is death ? It is birth, resur- 
rection. Not dead. 

" A little girl had a little bird's egg, so beautiful of color and shape, 
she visited it time and again, and at last she saw the shell was broken. 
The beauty and shape were gone. She burst into tears as if her heart 
would break. She heard a little sound and looked up, and there on the 
bough of a tree was a singiDg-bird — so beautiful ! That bird was per- 
fected in that shell, and had escaped from the broken shell. The little 
child forgot the broken shell as she saw the bird. Out in Evanston, 111., 
is the broken shell. The perfected man is not there. Nor is he gone. 
I believe, brethren, that those who die in the Lord Jesus Christ are with 
us. The Saviour said : 'lam the first-fruits of the resurrection. I go 
for your sakes (not for His own), and if I go I come again.' And as He 
came and was a power more than ever to those who believed in Him^ so 
this one who has gone beyond the veil is not away from us. Beyond 
the veil are the secret springs of those forces that move the world. 
Not less than before, but greater than before. Had John B. Finch 
a wonderful knowledge of human nature, that intuitive knowledge 
that was almost miraculous ? He understands the human heart better 
"to-day than ever. Had he a marvellous power of combination and 
a lightning power of execution ? Never was he so able to combine — 
never so swift of execution as to-day. The stars, we are told, fought in 
their courses against Sisera. The dead are fighting with those who are 
in the right in this mighty cause. It is no calamity to die. I once heard 
Henry Ward Beecher say to a man who came up to him and said : 'You 
are not well.' ' No,' said Beecher, with a far-away look. He ventured 
to say further : ' Mr. Beecher, you had better be careful of yourself, or 
some time sickness will get the better of you. ' With that look that 
seemed to take in immensity, he said : ' I hope so ; I hope so. I would 
not live alway.' He who understands the mystery of death, as the 
Scripture teaches us, would not live alway — not even if he takes into 
consideration only the welfare of those who remain behind. The last 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 463 

time— and it seems but yesterday— that Mr. Finch spoke to me, almost 
his last words were : ' Let there be no compromise with that infernal 
liquor power.' I said to him : • Let there be no compromise.' 

" Eichard Coeur de Lion, after he was dead, led in a remarkable way 
his soldiers. His heart was taken out and put in a casket, and his sol- 
diers would carry that casket with them in battle. They would throw 
the casket far into the ranks of the enemy, and then they would cry : 
' Let us go forward to where Hi chard's heart is.' And so let us throw 
this sentence of John B. Finch : ' Let there be no compromise with the 
infernal power, the liquor traffic' Hurl it forward into the ranks of the 
enemy, and then cry to the temperance hosts from Maine down to 
Texas, on to California : ' Let us fight up to that sentence of John B. 
Finch.' ' ' 

ADDRESS OF MRS. MARY T. BURT. 

" Sometimes death comes after days and months of pain and suffer- 
ing. Sometimes it comes suddenly, quickly, instantaneously, and in 
the twinkling of an eye the mortal puts on immortality. Sometimes it 
delays its coming until all preparations have been made for leaving the 
earthly home for the heavenly. But not so the summons came to our 
brother. It came to him when his life was full of earnest plans of hard 
work. It came to him when life, I presume, seemed the dearest. It 
came to him when he stood as the honored leader and the trusted guide 
of two great organizations. And God was merciful in sending death 
thus. He was spared, our brother, the fruitless longing of not seeing 
his hopes fulfilled or his plans realized. God took him to Himself sud- 
denly and quickly. In the course of my temperance work and life I was 
privileged to meet Mr. Finch but three times. I heard him speak but 
once, and that was at the great meeting in Syracuse, August 25th, 1887. 
I remember as he sat upon the platform when, just as his name was 
announced, his friend and brother, Mr. Hopkins, turned and extended 
to him his hand. They sat thus for an instant with clasped hands, 



4G4 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

looking into each other's eyes, a look of perfect love and of confidence. 
And then he rose to speak. But a great storm of applause swept over 
that audience. And as he stood then in his magnificent manhood 
giving expression to utterances which thrilled the hearts of his hearers 
and inspired them to fresh action, I said to myself : ' What a splendid 
and God-given man ! ' But we could not say — we did not know — that 
there, close by his side, stood the angel of death. We did not know 
that never again in this great State would that voice be heard in behalf 
of this great cause. But that was God's way, and that was His will. 
I believe that Mr. Finch was a man of the strictest integrity ; the purest 
life ; that he was a Christian man ; and it seems to me, in the face of 
this record, that nothing more can be said, for no memorial can be better 
than that. As I sat that night on the platform in Syracuse, and heard 
the expressions of the men who stood side by side with him in this great 
battle, I realized that for him they felt a love that was not common in 
its nature; that the love they felt for him was like the love which 
Jonathan felt for David ; and I have sat here on this platform this after- 
noon, and I have seen strong men weep on everj 7 side of me, and so I know 
that this was no common man, and so I feel that for his life, for his 
presence, and for his words, you need be doubly thankful to the One 
that gave him to you. And now it would seem to our poor clouded 
human vision that this is all wrong. That this life, so useful and so 
beautiful, should be taken now in its prime— it would seem to us all 
wrong. But not so, my friends. The life taken just as it was, in 
God's sight, all rounded and complete ; the warp and woof all perfect. 
Just as when the one with silvered hairs and whose face is all lined 
over with the experiences and the cares of life, whose hands are 
wrinkled and feeble— just as we judge their lives to be complete in years 
and usefulness, just as complete was this man, our brother. 

I am glad I met Mr. Finch as I did. I am glad to have known him, 
for we women looked to him as the leader of this great cause in this 
country. We trusted him as much as did you. We honored him no less. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 4G5 

And now to the wife sitting in her stricken home in the far West goes 
out our heart in tenderest sympathy ; and for this boy in his youthful 
years left so lonely and fatherless, may God keep them and care for 
them as He will. We realize that while this man, so full of power and 
life, was out in the world, that the great heart of his joyous soul was sud- 
denly and painfully stirred often and often ; we know that he heard 
heavenly voices calling, and we know that he has reached that happy, 
tearless shore which girds God's throne in heaven. In the bosom of 
the Almighty is he sheltered, and in His arms has he found eternal rest. 

" ' Servant of God, well done ! 

Rest from thy loved employ ; 
The battle fought, the victory won 
Enter thy Master's joy. 

" * The voice at midnight came ; 
He started up to hear ; 
A mortal arrow pierced his frame, 
He fell, but felt no fear. 

" ' Tranquil amidst alarms, 
It found him in the field ; 
A veteran slumbering on his arms, 
Beneath his Red Cross shield. 

" ' His sword was in his hand, 
Still warm with recent fight, 
Ready that moment, at command, 
Through rock and steel to smite. 

" ' The pains of death are past, 
Labor and sorrow cease, 
And life's long warfare closed at last— 
His soul is found in peace. 

" ' Soldier of Christ, well done ! 
Praise be thy new employ ; 
And while eternal ages run, 
Rest in thy Saviour's joy. 1 " 



466 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

Stephen M. Wright, Esq., Vice-President of the Ameri- 
can Temperance Union, offered the following resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, It has pleased Him who notes even the fall of a sparrow, 
to suddenly call from our midst one who, though scarcely yet in the 
prime of life, was the accepted leader in waging the battle against the 
intemperance of our land ; 

" Whereas, From this platform, and at this very hour, was to have 
been heard his voice in ringing denunciation of the great evil of the 
liquor traffic, it is therefore eminently fit and proper that there should 
be offered such feeble words of sympathy as befit our sorrowing hearts ; 
therefore, 

" Resolved, That the American Temperance Union, and its friends 
here assembled, do express our deep feeling of sorrow and bereavement 
at the loss which we have sustained in the death of our dear friend and 
co-laborer, John B. Finch. 

" Resolved, That we unite with all other temperance organizations in 
deploring his great loss, at this particular time, when his clarion voice 
is so needed to carry forward the great work intrusted to our hands. 

" Resolved, That to the Order of Good Templars do we particularly 
extend our sympathy in the loss of the great chieftain by whose power 
of persuasion they were made to extend their hands across the ocean, 
and grasp each other in friendly unity. 

" Resolved, That while we, as members of the American Temperance 
Union, do keenly feel the loss which we have sustained in the death of 
a warm friend, ever ready to respond to our call, we cannot but realize 
how serious is the blow to the temperance cause in all its phases, for 
in John B. Finch they all found a close student, a vigorous thinker, an 
impressive and convincing speaker, clear and logical in his reasoning, 
with a remarkable degree of boldness and unflinching faithfulness of 
purpose, which made him, by its own force, naturally a most sagacious 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 467 

leader ; and, as we part with him to-day at the tomb, we may fittingly 
say : ' Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. ' 

" Resolved, That to his family we tender our sincere condolence in 
this hour of deep affliction, and sympathy in this their irreparable loss 
of an affectionate husband and tender-hearted father ; and while we hesi- 
tate to trespass upon the sacredness of their grief, we earnestly com- 
mend them to the mercy of Him who has promised a crown of immortal 
glory beyond the tomb." 

In Boston memorial services were held in the People's 
Church Sunday afternoon, October 23d. James H. Roberts 
presided. 

After remarks by the chairman, the choir sang : 

" Beyond the smiling and the weeping, 

I shall be soon ; 
Beyond the waking and the sleeping, 
Beyond the sowing and the reaping, 

I shall be soon. 
Love, rest, and home ; sweet, sweet home ; 
Lord, tarry not, but come. 

" Beyond the rising and the setting, 

I shall be soon ; 
Beyond the calming and the fretting, 
Beyond remembering and forgetting, 

I shall be soon. 
Love, rest, and home ; sweet, sweet home ; 
Lord, tarry not, but come. 

" Beyond the parting and the meeting, 
I shall be soon ; 



468 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Beyond the farewell and the greeting, 
Beyond the pulse's fever-heating, 

I shall be soon. 
Love, rest, and home ; sweet, sweet home ; 
Lord, tarry not, but come." 

ADDEESS OF BENJAMIN E. JEWELL. 

" Life is real ; it may be brief ; let us learn therefore the necessity of 
living not to ourselves, but for the good of our fellow- men. Let us 
break the narrow cords of selfishness that bind us within the limited 
vision of ourselves and those with whom we are intimately associated. 
Let us labor for the good of the race ; then shall we realize the full 
value of life and the true measure of time. 

" ' We live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not breaths ; 
In feelings, not in figures on the dial. 
We should count time by heart-throbs, when they beat 
For God, for man, for duty. He most lives 
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.' 

" Measured by this standard, John B. Finch lived a long life. Cut 
down in the early summer of his years, he lived to the autumn of life 
in influence and experience. His was a rare combination of gentleness 
and strength ; his winning manner and luminous smile were irresistible. 
He convinced his hearers by the logical presentation of his subject ; his 
withering satire was annihilating ; his was an analytical mind. His 
sentences were ornate, and as an orator he ranked among the first upon 
the temperance platform. As a speaker he was not impassioned ; his 
training as a lawyer enabled him to led his hearers, step by step, from 
principles that were self-evident to those that would reasonably follow. 
He was sympathetic, and the little incidents of life that touch our com- 
passion moved his heart to the tenderest emotions. I have seen him 
help the little ragged newsboy time and time again ; if he could bring 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 469 

sunlight out of darkness or a smile to one with a burdened heart, it was 
a real pleasure for him to do so. His spirit was that of one who wished 
to help his fellow-man. 

" It was my privilege to be with him many times in the constitutional 
amendment campaigns, and I wish to state that in his presentation of 
the cause, he rigidly adhered to his agreement with the committee that 
he was to present the subject from a non-partisan standpoint ; and while 
he was an intense partisan upon the platform, he was faithful to his en- 
gagements with the Amendment Committee. 

" To me his words were an inspiration, and his sincere and brave 
spirit wonderfully impressed me, and I regarded him the most able ex- 
ponent for constitutional prohibition. 

" He was a natural organizer and possessed rare executive ability. 
The detail of work was not irksome to him, and he joined heartily in all 
plans for the advancement of the cause. 

" He believed in the educational methods of temperance work, and 
gave his unqualified approbation to those organizations that adhere to 
special agencies, moral, educational, and religious. In this he exhibited 
a broad and catholic spirit which is worthy of imitation. In an hour of 
perplexity, a friend said to him, ' I am willing to die for the temperance 
work,' and the reply of the great leader was, 'It is easy and cowardly 
to die ; it is brave to live and conquer.' 

" I knew Mr. Finch in his home — a fond husband and an affectionate 
father. The saddened household, what a shadow has fallen there ! the 
memories of his home life, how they linger like the evening shadows of 
the setting sun on the autumnal sky ! The remembrance of his loving 
and devoted life is the best legacy left to the sorrowing wife and father- 
less boy. What a precious bequest, priceless above rubies ! 

" I would not claim for him perfection of character, but I do feel that 
he ranked among the truest and the best. 

" "We miss him — his smiling face and his happy greeting ; but amid 
the sorrow of his absence we remember that our loss is his gain. His 



470 THE LIFE OF JOHN B, FINCH. 

spirit is in the presence of Him who is ' fulness of joy, and at whose 
right hand are pleasures forevermore.' 

" ' We too must come to the river Bide, 
One by one ! one by one ! 
We are nearer its waters each eventide, 

Yes, one by one. 
The waves of the river are dark and cold, 
We know not the place where our feet may hold. 
O Thou, who didst pass through the deepest midnight, 
Now guide us, and send us the staff and light. 
Gathering home ! gathering home I 

Fording the river one by one, 
Gathering home ! gathering home 1 
Yes, one by one. 1 " 

ADDRESS OF MRS. HELEN G. RICE, FOR THE WOMAN'S 
CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. 

" We, members of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, are 
wont to call each other sisters ; and it is no mere form of speech, for 
to stand heart to heart for the accomplishment of a high and holy pur- 
pose gives a sense of kinship not less true and tender than does the tie 
of blood. We are wont also to speak of the husbands of these sisters, 
loyal as ourselves ' to God, and home, and native land,' as the good 
brothers-in-law of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. So it 
is most fitting that the White Ribbon household should be represented in 
this memorial service to-day ; for John B. Finch was one of the family, 
a brother beloved. 

'•■ How well I recall the first time that I ever saw his face and heard 
his voice, in that grand meeting at Tremont Temple, when he shared the 
time with Colonel Bain and Governor St. John ! Still more vividly rises 
before me an evening a little later, when a nearer view of him led me to 
say to the friend beside me : ' Mr. Finch must be a good man, for his 
goodness is stamped upon his countenance ; it was worth the time and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 471 

trouble of coming here to-night to see the rare sweetness of his smile ; * 
and my friend replied : ' It was the best temperance address that I ever 
heard.' 

" Since then his name has become a household word in scores of New 
England homes, and 

" ' Many a [tear and] blessing went 

With [him] beneath that low, green tent, 
Whose curtain never outward swings.' 

" An English writer has said : ' There is no good man's heart that 
has not a little of the woman in it,' and our brother surely had 

" ' That gentleness 
Which, when it weds with manhood, 
Makes a man.'' 

" True and tender to all women, he had the nobleness of soul to dis- 
cern all their possibilities, and to rejoice in all that they had accom- 
plished. By the sense of personal loss which his sudden going has 
brought to each White Ribbon woman, we know something of the shadow 
which rests upon the home he loved, where the wife sits in the desola- 
tion of her young widowhood, and clasps to her arms her fatherless boy. 
May the dear Lord comfort and shield them. 

" ' So young,' we all said, as the sudden tidings reached us, ' to be 
called away from his labors ; ' but for God's children there are no un- 
timely deaths, no unfinished lives, and, ' counting time by heart-throbs,' 
Mr. Finch had lived longer than many a man who has rounded out his 
threescore years and ten. Rather let us say, ' So greatly honored, to be 
thus early promoted to the higher service.' 

" ' Undaunted he fell. 
Not in the winter of age bending low ; 
Wasted and worn in the summer's warm glow ; 
Strong in his manhood, hope gilding his sky, 
In the pathway of duty he sank down to die. 
Undaunted he fell 1 ' 



472 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

•' It would be wise for the young manhood of this nation, enfeebling 
its powers to such an extent physically, mentally, and spiritually, with 
the nicotine and alcoholic habits, and other follies of the day, to gaze 
upon this splendid example of what a man may be when he learns ' to 
think God's thoughts after Him,' and to work in harmony with God's 
plan ; a gentle man, and yet a masterful man, who could sway audiences 
at his will, his great power lay in the fact that he dared to be ' in the 
right with two or three. ' 

" When the truth took possession of him, it was like a fire in his 
bones, which must find outward expression. So he could stand out 
before this nation the living embodiment of a great principle, while the 
multitude passed by on the other side. 

"It was not in God's purpose that he should live to see this great 
principle triumph, and to hear the sneers of the populace change to 
plaudits ; but he whom God crowns victor on the eternal heights can 
miss nothing of earthly honors. Ours is the precious legacy of his 
brave, wise words, which will help the cause he loved for all the days 

to come. 

" ' All is not dead. 
Still in your midst the best lingers to-day 
Of the loved and departed, untouched by decay. 
The virtues he cherished yet live, and will last 
When the scenes of the present are lost in the past. 
All is not dead I' 

" ' Pause now and weep ! 
Weep for our [hero], lost to our eight ; 
Nobly he toiled for us ; gave of his might. 
Ye may search for his like as long years circle round, 
But a loftier spirit will never be found. 
Pause now and weep.'' 

" But, after all, the crowning glory of this man was that he had en- 
throned Christ in his heart. Loyalty to the Master made his gentleness 
more gentle, his bravery more brave, and himself like unto those who 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 473 

wait for their Lord with loins girt about and lamps trimmed and 

burning. 

" ' Christian, farewell ! 

As ready for death as true in thy life, 

No danger appalled thee in [bitterest] strife. 

With tears we commit the dear form to the sod, 

The dust to the earth, the spirit to God. 

Christian, farewell !' " 



ADDEESS OF EEV. J. W. HAMILTON, D.D. 

" Me. Chaikman : This is the soldier's farewell. We are a company 
of comrades met to say last words over a hero's grave. John B. Finch 
was an officer commanding in the field, when and where death met him. 
He fell with his sword drawn and face to the foe. If ever 

" ' Thehes, Epaminondas rears again, 

When Grecian mothers give birth to men,' 

it was when this fair land raised up this man, and gave him to the tem- 
perance reform. 

" He was every inch a man— a manly man. He was a foeman worthy 
of Damascus steel. Money could not bribe him, mere friendship per- 
suade him, nor could political preferment move him. 

" He was a brave man, he cared little for majorities. Eighteousness 
with him was no uncertain sovereignty. His first gun in every campaign 
was the canon of Sacred Scripture, and the monument he would build 
on the battle-field of his last victory would be the tombstone of the last 
saloon. There is a Scandinavian legend that there was once a giantess 
and she had a daughter who, when wandering in the field, found a hus- 
bandman ploughing. She picked him up, with his horses and plough, 
between her thumb and finger, and tossing him into her apron she has- 
tened to her home, and said : ' Mother, what beetle is this I found wrig- 
gling in the sand ? ' and she replied : ' Daughter, this is a brave man 
come from a brave people, who will soon possess the land. We must be 



474 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

gone from here.' When the man whom we honor to-day first stood 
upon our platform, we were few and feared by none. It was in the 
sneerf ul period of our history. Some there were who spoke triflingly of 
the youthful aspirant. But others there were, wise men in the political 
parties, once they had measured him and weighed his cause, who saga- 
ciously said : ' He is a brave man, come from a brave people, who will 
soon possess this land. We must be gone from here.' 

" He was a sincere and earnest man in all his dealings with the great 
tragedy of human kind enacted by the drink habit. We have been 
charged with much trifling. Speakers we have had who ofttimes ad- 
dressed themselves to public audiences in only a humorous vein ; but 
there was no trifling by this man. He was an honest, sober man, and 
I have heard my brother Miner say he would go a long journey on seri- 
ous business. I love to think of him now as I have seen him stand in 
the majesty of his custom before the assembled thousands who not in- 
frequently came to hear him. I may say of him as Byron has some- 
where said, that there he stood, 

" ' Simple, erect, severe, austere, sublime.' 

" He was a strong man and a sagacious leader. He commanded the 
respect of all his opponents. I have said elsewhere that he was a states- 
man — the statesman of this reform. There were no tricks of the orator 
about him. He wielded the sinews of war, he set siege to the citadels 
of rum and won his battles by main force. 

' ' He was a great commander. It has been said that it was not until 
the Prussian drill-master, Steuben (I believe), had introduced drill and 
discipline into our American armies that they could withstand any 
respectable force ; so this man, when we were scattered and disorgan- 
ized, came with his sagacity, and not only his sagacity to see the weak 
places in the walled cities of his enemies, but sagacity to discover the 
weakness and aimlessness of our own numbers ; and as a great tactician 
he introduced the skilful management by which he drew the men to- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 475 

gether and held them about him as a great general holds his armies in 
his command. He then sought out strong men, daring to wrestle with 
their great manoeuvres and standing armies, willing to carry his cause to 
the people, and trust to that ' silent conspiracy of the sensible ' which 
sooner or later must settle this cruel war, as every other war against sin 
and sinning. There he was willing to leave his forces and die. He 
engaged in great intellectual conflicts, and because it was a moral con- 
test in which he was engaged he never wavered, believing that the right 
was invincible and must prevail. 

" He was a gentleman. As a brother he was regarded by his fellow- 
workmen, and our sisters honored him because they recognized in him 
the gentleman. It was for this cause that his opponents could not com- 
plain of him. It could be said of him as of his Master, ' Thy gentleness 
hath made thee great. ' 

" He was a Christian man. No one who engages in God's work can 
certainly succeed until he first surrenders himself to God's will. This 
is God's work, and this man is God's workman. To that class of pagan 
Christians among us who make traffic of the blood and tears and cries 
of men, women, and children, he was the firm and stately ' Delhi, with 
his cap of terror on.' After the straitest sect of our religion he lived a 
Methodist. I repeat he was a Christian man. 

" But I was not to speak at length, and with my last word I have 
done. My brother, 

" * Farewell ! If ever fondest prayer 
For others' weal availed on high, 
Mine will not all he lost in air, 
But waft thy name heyond the sky.' " 

ADDRESS OF REV. A. A. MINER, D.D. 

' John B. Finch was a strong man with a tender heart. His sympa- 
thies were as broad as the race, and yet he had nerves of steel. Honest 
in every fibre of his being, he readily marked the shuffling of others. 



476 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" Mr. Fincli saw clearly the woes flowing from the drink traffic and 
drinking usages of society. The wife's careworn face, the children's 
pleading look, the poverty-stricken home — all summoned him to heroic 
effort. The world was asleep ; he would awake it. The Church was 
apathetic ; he would arouse it to life. Our politics were corrupt ; he 
would revolutionize and purify them. 

" This could not be done by either of the old parties. They were 
organized for other purposes. They are divided on this. Their busi- 
ness is at an end. There is no issue in which the members of either 
party are agreed. The offices are the goal of all effort. No matter how 
threatening the condition of things, the first step in reform cannot be 
taken without hazard to party success. The one party will not make a 
change ; the other cannot. 

" This fact Mr. Finch clearly perceived. All the professions of reform 
put forth by the dominant party of the State are ambiguous and incom- 
plete. If they had had any prohibitory purpose, thirty years' history 
would have made it manifest. We should have no occasion to take 
promises of intention to do something, in place of things done. 

" The truth is, public confidence is gone. The enthusiasm awakened 
by Mrs. Livermore's announcement the other night shows the trend of 
public thought. She had long wrestled with the problem of duty. She 
felt that she was not in the right position. She continued to hope 
against hope. Duty became too plain to be longer resisted. The Ee- 
publican Party is repudiated by her. Tens of thousands are standing 
where she stood, hesitating as she hesitated, and will at length decide 
as she decided. Let no man say I am bringing politics into the Church. 
I am but turning rum -ridden politics out of the Church. 

" The state of public opinion here is but a sample of the thought in 
many another quarter. Mr. Finch has been largely instrumental in 
bringing about this state of things. Ever since his election as Chairman 
of the National Prohibitory Committee, at Pittsburg, in 1884, he has had 
the conduct of the warfare in his own hand. All the lines of influence have 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 477 

been directed by him ; and he possessed in a remarkable degree the con- 
fidence of all earnest prohibitory workers in every section of the country. 

' ' His visits to this State and city were frequent and always welcome. 
With thousands of saloons licensed by State authority, without stress of 
law, no wonder Mr. Finch was a frequent visitor here. The lessons in 
the various localities are substantially the same. 

' ' The failure to take up the cause of good order has everywhere placed 
the Republican Party hors du combat. Public attention is called to the 
subject as never before. The prophecy that the defeat of 1884 had put 
back the cause of prohibition fifty years has not been verified. The 
contrary is true. It placed it in the foreground. Prohibition success- 
fully challenges public attention at every turn. And no man is worthy 
of higher honor in this result than is the man we mourn. 

" But his work is done, and well done. The strength and sweetness 
of his life will remain with us for many a year. Having communed with 
him on the shores of . Lake Michigan and often in our own city, and 
having welcomed him a guest in my own home, I had learned to appre- 
ciate the straightforwardness, the candor and transparency of purpose 
equally manifest in public and in private life. The memory he leaves 
will be in large measure a ' savor of life unto life. ' 

" ' Thus star by star declines, 

Till all are passed away ; 
As morning high and higher shines, 

To pure and perfect day. 
Nor sink those stars in empty night ; 
They hide themselves in heaven's own light.' 1 " 

OUR LAMENTED LEADER. 

'Tis sad indeed — his loss to mourn, 

So young, so helpful was our friend ; 
We can but wish he still were here, 

With fifty years or more to spend. 



478 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

A " moral hero " came and stood 
Foremost among the moral host ; 

Though brief his service, he of all 
Was one we loved, revered the most. 

His heart's condition well he knew, 
But courage, duty, stood the test ; 

No man among us more can do 
Than give his life that all be blest. 

Perchance on him we leaned too much 
And shunned, ourselves, the rightful part, 

That falls on soldiers in a war 

Where ballots tell on head and heart. 

Some, with mission best performed 
In early manhood's active years, 

Depart before results are seen, 
And leave us anxious with our fears j 

While others, plants of slower growth, 
Eeformers are past middle life, 

And do their best when needed most 
To gain the day in peaceful strife. 

Full well we know that Right must win, 
And Justice triumph in the end ; 

Though long delayed, we need not fear 
While earnest souls their spirits lend. 

The cause he loved cannot stand still, 
The forceful motors are too great ; 

What man and woman both demand 
Will come to pass in every State. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 4?9 

And when the jubilee resounds 

O'er prohibition — far and wide, 
O'er Freedom gained anew for all — 

When North and South stand side by side, 

Let him whose loss we mourn to-day 

Receive due credit for his part ; 
Let monumental tablet tell 

The cause that lay so near his heart. 

Geok&e Kempton. 

At the National Prohibition Conference in Chicago 
November 30th and December 1st, the first evening was 
devoted to the memory of John B. Finch. 

Frances E. Willard made the principal address, and was 
followed by General Clinton B. Fisk and others. Miss 
Willard said : 

" As a child Mr. Finch was so ethereal, of a spirit so sportive and an 
alertness so surprising, that they called him ' Bird ; ' and this was his only 
name until, at three years old, he rebelled against it as ' not fit for a 
boy,' and said : ' My name is John,' to which he steadily adhered. We 
who now learn for the first time what B. stood for in his name can see 
in it a prophecy of that multitudinous nature of which we were so 
proud, in which the flashing eagle of argument did not dismay the full- 
voiced nightingale of rhetoric or the winsome dove of pathos. 

" Indeed, I used sometimes playfully to speak of this brilliant, tune- 
ful song-bird of the choir as our ' Temperance Gold-Finch.' We do not 
wonder that the same imperial will and pronounced individuality that 
even in early childhood chose its own name has since, by its splendid 
achievements, made that name known in every quarter of the globe, so 
that to-day in Finland and Tasmania, in Stockholm and Madras, Good 
Templars wear the mourning badge for John Bird Finch, 



480 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" But though he took first rank on the platform, as he did in teach- 
ing, he was a born journalist, and his first public reputation as a young 
man opposed to dram-shops resulted from his articles in a local paper 
of Marathon, N. Y. Work on the temperance platform could not then 
be relied upon as a means of support by a young man wholly dependent 
upon his own exertions, so our hero went on teaching and had much 
reputation in county conventions and teachers' institutes. At one of 
these, held in Cortland, he was secretary, and here Miss Frances Man- 
chester came to pass her examination for a certificate. He looked up 
and asked her name ; thus they became acquainted ; and to this lady, 
whose bright, intrepid spirit has helped him on in every good word and 
work, he was married in May, 1876. To her was given the loyal love of 
his strong manhood, and with her he shared the multiplying triumphs 
of his great career. 

" We now see these two going together out into the temperance har- 
vest of their native commonwealth, where, in Buffalo and many other 
towns and cities, rapidly grew the reputation of this brilliant orator of 
twenty -four. In 1877 they went to Nebraska, where John led the Ked 
Bibbon movement, sj)oke sixty successive nights in the Opera House at 
Omaha, and in the State won sixty thousand names to the ironclad 
pledge, while everywhere the masses flocked to hear him. 

" In 1881 John B. Finch appeared for the first time at Lake Bluff, that 
Mecca of our leaders. His speech at once betrayed him as a logician 
without rivals. His great book, ' The People vs. the Liquor Traffic,' 
proclaimed him chieftain of pen as well as voice. He was central figure 
at Farwell Hall in the mid-term Convention of the Prohibition Party 
held in 1882. In 1884 he blazed out on the assembled leaders of the 
national temperance movement at the Pittsburg Convention, where Gov- 
ernor St. John was laid upon the altar of our sacred cause. During that 
great campaign, in all the awful strife, and through the battle smoke, 
two martial figures fought at the fore, John Finch and John St. John, 
against the forces of the demijohn. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 481 

" In the notable debate of 1884, where he demolished the arguments 
of Dr. Dio Lewis and vindicated the principles and plans of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, Brother Finch endeared himself to all 
White Ribboners. In the non-partisan campaigns in Maine, Ehode 
Island, Michigan, and Tennessee, and that memorable debate with D. 
Bethune Duffield in Detroit, his flashing sword made him our Henry of 
Navarre. 

" But it was the chief marvel of his marvellous life that the man who 
stood first in the legal temperance movement should win his crowning 
victory as the central figure of the movement on its moral suasion side. 
Having had a teacher's training, he always believed that the drink habit 
and the liquor traffic find their surest bulwark in the people's ignorance 
of natural law. Hence it was his earnest purpose to introduce educa- 
tional methods into the Good Templars' Order, and he worked hard, 
assisted by his trusty counsellors, to arrange a course of reading and 
stiidy for the members. Under police protection he saw the night side 
of our large cities, and studied the consequences of strong drink in 
police courts and institutions for the defective, dependent, and delin- 
quent classes. He studied beer with special care, its nature and effects, 
finding that the most impure living and most brutal murders resulted 
from its use. As a consequence of these investigations he came to 
believe it the most demoralizing of drinks, and warned the people against 
beer mugs in the home and beer casks in politics as the chief curse of 
America and constant companion of anarchy and kindred crimes. 

" Devoted and loyal as he was to the Prohibition Party, earnest in the 
Red Ribbon work, brotherly and true to the Woman' s Christian Tem- 
perance Union, the first, last, longest love of John B. Finch's life was 
his love for the Good Templars. David was not nearer to Jonathan nor 
Naomi to Ruth. He was devoted to that society as we women are de- 
voted to our Woman's Christian Temperance Union. It is the strongest 
proof of his affluent brain that he could, at one time, lead the two wings 
of our mighty temperance army, but it is the strongest proof of his true 



482 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

heart that his best love was given to the one that he had earliest known 
and that had longest cherished him. 

" Unconsciously we all our lives sit to be photographed before the 
camera of public opinion, and when we disappear the negatives are 
taken to death's dark closet, where they are developed and then printed 
by the sunshine of that kindliness in human hearts which holds them 
from speaking anything but good of the departed. 

" A POLITICIAN WITH A CONSCIENCE. 

" John B. Finch was a natural politician, but he was that rare and 
masterly creation, a politician with a conscience. Beared in the Demo- 
cratic Party, and sure to have won promotion there, he parted company 
with his old comrades when they struck hands with the saloon-keepers. 

" There was another trait of his which I certainly cannot pass by in 
silence— he had profound faith in woman. He believed she could do 
anything she chose, and wanted her to have the chance. Once, soon 
after their marriage, Mrs. Finch heard a lady speak in a temperance 
convention, and she, turning to her husband, whispered, ' How can she 
do that ? ' But he answered, ' The time will come when you can do the 
same.' He had a pride in his wife's ability to buy and sell, to keep 
their bank account, and pay their taxes. He willed all he had to her, 
and made her the executor of his estate, and she says no words of his 
are more familiar than his bright, ' Oh, yes, Puss, you can do that ! \ 
Soon after their marriage Mrs. Finch had occasion to declare her belief 
in the enfranchisement of women, when her husband said to her, ' I 
believe just as you do.' 

" His wife said recently to me : ' The first thing when he came from 
his long journeyings was a romp with little John. I called them my two 
boys. He was social, jolly, affectionate. Then he and I would settle 
down to desk work, for I was his secretary, knew all about his plans, 
and spent my whole time helping him to work them out. He had the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 483 

happiest life I ever knew ; he loved his home, delighted in his work, 
and never borrowed trouble.' 

" This is her testimony who, with a Spartan's courage, has triumphed 
over the weakness induced by the first terrific shock when she knew 
that her strong staff was broken, and her beautiful rod. God bless Mrs. 
John B. Finch, of whom our work will hear more as time goes on. She 
has been truly a helpmeet for her husband, a woman of individuality 
and strength. As loyal and true as we are to his grand memory who has 
so swiftly vanished from that lovely home, so true and loyal will we be 
to thee, our sister and our friend ! 

"Mrs. Finch and her husband were comrades always. It was with 
his full sympathy she entered the University at Evanston, graduating 
from our school of oratory, and Brother Finch came there to live in 
1884 chiefly because it was her wish. She and I have long been friends, 
and I first knew through her of Brother Finch's malady. She said, 
' I must study and be able to take care of myself and little John, for my 
husband's life hangs on a thread.' 

" I shall never forget her language when I saw her first after the 
thunderbolt had fallen. She said : ' I thought I could not bear it ; the 
world rolled from beneath my feet ; but I have prayed much, and I have 
had a vision of my husband, who smiled upon me and said : " Live for 
Johnny's sake." ' 

" To those of us who were often at conventions or summer camps no 
memory is more familiar than Brother Finch with little John, his only 
child, so strongly like his father, seated upon his knee or perched upon 
his shoulder. A more fatherly spirit I never knew than that of our de- 
parted chief. The boy was all in all to him ; never seemed in his way, 
or other than fondJy welcome, even in his busiest hours. And I want 
to say to-night to little John that he has as many friends as there are 
temperance people in the nation ; the Prohibitionists will still bear him 
in their arms and carry him upon their shoulders, and if he grows up 
as clean, as pure and earnest as his father was, we shall all be more than 



484 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

glad to help John D. Finch to any good or any greatness within his 
power to gain. 

" It goes without saying that Brother Finch was an indefatigable stu- 
dent. The Pullman car was his study, its swift motion keeping time to 
his tireless thoughts. He had great power of concentration. "When he 
was studying one might speak to him a dozen times and he never knew 
that he had been addressed at all. He was a brancher out ; he had in- 
tellectual hardihood ; read both sides of a question ; had a surprising 
grip of memory, and great skill in the mechanic arts ; could run a loco- 
motive as well as a party and dissect a cadaver and a fallacy with equal 
readiness. He had a temperance library second to none and the only 
complete collection in the world of books and journals pertaining to 
Good Templary. He had a choice law library and a collection of the 
chief poets and novelists, in both of which he was well read. His favor- 
ite books, aside from our temperance standards, were Guizot's and Ban- 
croft's histories, Lieber's ' Civil Liberty ' and ' Civil Government,' also 
his 'Political Ethics;' Freeman's 'Comparative Politics, ' Von Hoist's 
' Constitutional History of the United States,' John Stuart Mill's ' Politi- 
cal Economy,' Draper's ' Intellectual Development of Europe,' Bancroft's 
' History of the Constitution. ' 

" With a memory furnished by the careful study of such books as 
these, and full of the thoughts they struck out from his own mind like 
sparks from steel, he was always ready to speak, and could put the fill- 
ing into the warp while he was upon the platform. It was his wont to 
walk back and forth with hands behind him while preparing his many 
studied efforts. 

" He was of generous nature, willing to divide, quick to ask forgive- 
ness or to grant it. He never measured people by what they said, but 
by their deeds. His wife pays him the matchless tribute of these 
words : ' He was the purest man in body and mind I ever knew. ' For 
myself, I judge men and women most by the company they keep, and 
this I know : Three of the gentlest, strongest, truest men I ever met 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 485 

have borne to me the warmest commendation of John B. Finch's char- 
acter and daily life, and the men stood as close to him as brothers. 
They are A. J. Jutkins, Samuel D. Hastings, and George W. Bain. 

" Dear friends and brothers, his character has grown upon me as I 
studied it the more. He was greater than we knew ; he was better even 
than we thought. Men said he was ambitious ; but since he went away 
the secret compact that he made with leaders to accept no preferment 
has come to light. Men said he was sometimes impatient and severe ; 
but since he went away we know about the ticking of the death-watch 
in his tortured heart ; it explains utterances that he regretted more than 
any other could. Men who were false and jealous lied about him, but 
in the fierce light that beats upon all the thrones of power he stood 
unscathed. 

" And he is gone whom temperance people so often called ' the mighty 
Finch.' I cannot make him dead. He was one of the livest men I ever 
saw. My thought and prayers are often with his dear wife and little 
John." 

On Sunday evening, December 4th, the District Lodge of 
the thirteenth district of Illinois, of which Mr. Finch was a 
member, held a memorial service in the First Methodist 
Episcopal Church of Chicago. George C. Christian, ex- 
Governor St. John, and Frank J. Sibley made short ad- 
dresses. 

Mr. Sibley said : 

" After the tongue of eloquence has uttered its most touching tributes 
to the memory of John B. Finch ; after the pen has painted its fairest 
memorials of his matchless manhood ; after the muse in marvellous 
melody has taught the harp to trill new sad cadences to the name of our 
lost leader, it seems hardly fitting that less eloquent tongues or pens 



486 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

should take up the lamentation, or less skillful fingers touch the harp- 
strings, expecting to awaken a new symphony of sorrow. 

" We gather here to-night, as the high and the humble are gather- 
ing in a dozen kingdoms and countries, in both hemispheres, to com- 
memorate in our own way, as they have done in theirs, the wisdom 
and the virtues of our dead chieftain. 

" Good Templary claims John B. Finch as peculiarly its own ; its 
child, its brother, and its father ; its pupil and its teacher ; its comrade 
and its leader. 

' ' Possessed of the same broad charity and brotherhood that animates 
the Order that he so ably represented and so earnestly loved, he was 
always ready to encourage and aid every worker in any other department 
of temperance endeavor. If any temperance organization was assailed, 
it had but to call our chief, and his answer to the call was prompt and 
sure. 

" Wherever a great contest was pending for the principles of the 
reform and against the forces of the liquor power, John B. Finch was 
ever to be found at the front hewing his resistless way with the keen 
cimeter of truth and unanswerable logic through the bulwarks of false 
philosophy the enemy had reared. It mattered not to him whether the 
battle was waged in the name of Good Templary or in the name of the 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Sons of Temperance, the 
Red Ribbon movement, or the Prohibition Party, he was ready for the 
fight, and, in the name of God, helped to win the victory. 

" After the long and severe campaigns he loved to return to the lodge- 
rooms of the Order honored by his leadership. It seemed that there, 
best of all places in the world, the weary warrior from the moral battle- 
field could find rest, as the strong man, buffeted by the world's storms, 
can find sweetest peace in his boyhood's home. 

"But rest for such a man meant no idle folding of the hands. In 
every Good Templar Lodge he visited, and at every visit, he left the 
imprint of his ever-active thought. As the drop of ink flowing from 



' THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 487 

the pen of genius embalms the thought that lives and ' makes men 
think new thoughts forever,' some word of his lingers in every lodge - 
room, an inspiration to each true soul. . . . 

" As Good Templars and friends of the cause he championed, we 
gathered round his coffin in his broken home, and bore it reverently to 
Rose Hill, where we laid him to rest in the eternal silence of the city of 
the dead. Tears fell like summer rain as the coffin-lid closed, and all 
that was mortal of John B. Finch was forever shut from our gaze. 

" To-night as we meet to honor his memory the winds are singing a 
requiem round his tomb, and our sad hearts respond to the sorrow- 
ful moan, as we gather here in the gloom to say to our leader and our 
friend earth's last ' Good-night,' while over yonder, in the sunlit land, 
he waits to give us the Good Templar ' welcome ' and bid us ' Good- 
morning' in the kingdom of God." 

The following tributes from eminent men and women 

and from the press indicate the high esteem in which Mr. 

Finch was everywhere held and the widespread sorrow at 

his loss : 

ELIZABETH BOYNTON HARBERT. 

" When solicited by a committee of the Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union to say a few words at a ' Memorial Service ' in commemoration of 
the useful and heroic life of Hon. John B. Finch, the immortal lines 
written by John Boyle O'Reilly, in recognition of Wendell Phillips's 
patriotic service, seemed the only phrasing adequate to the occasion. 
To-day, as I long to write a fitting tribute of recognition of the life-work 
of our loved friend, the same lines ring out through the silence. 

" ' What shall we mourn ? For the prostrate tree 

That sheltered the young, green wood ? 
For the fallen cliff that fronted the sea, 

And guarded the fields from the flood ? 
For the eagle that died in the tempest, 

Afar from the eyrie hrood ? 



488 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" ' Nay ; not for these shall we weep, 
For the silver cord must he worn 
And the golden fillet shrink back at last 
And the duet to its earth return ; 

" ' And tears are never for those who die 
With their face to the duty done ; 
But we mourn for the fledglings left on the waste, 
And the fields where the wild waves run. 

" ' From the midst of the people is stricken 
A symbol they daily saw 
Set over against the law books 
Of a higher than human law. 

" ' For his life was a ceaseless protest 
And his voice was a prophet's cry 
To be true to the truth and the faithful, 
Though the world were arrayed for the lie. 

" ' Come, brothers, here to the burial, 
But weep not ; rather rejoice 
For his fearless life and his fearless death ; 
For his true, unequalled voice, 

" ' Like a silver trumpet sounding 
The note of human right ; 
For his brave heart always ready 
To enter the weak one's fight ; 

" ' For his soul unmoved by the mob's wild shout 
Or the social sneer's disgrace ; 
For his free-born spirit that drew no line 
Between class, or creed, or race.' 

" When the startling fact was stated that this heroic, eloquent young 
leader had been suddenly removed from earth, with new emphasis came 
the calm, unalterable conviction of the truth of immortality, and that 
what we call death is birth— birth into higher conditions, more blessed 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 489 

and boundless opportunities of service. Else is life a cruel mockery, an 
utter failure. Our abiding faith is, that life is glorious, the second birth 
into spiritual conditions, a beneficent progress, and that John B. Finch 
to-day, free from all disabling conditions, lives and labors more effec- 
tively than ever before. 

" We think of a bright summer day six years ago, when in expectant 
mood we waited in the shadow-flecked tabernacle at Lake Bluff for the 
appearance of Hon. George W. Bain, Hon. John B. Finch, and Colonel 
George "Woodford, who were to voice their protests against the national 
crime of licensing the liquor traffic. Mr. Finch stepped into the sun- 
light with his splendid equipment of youth, grace, eloquence, logic, and 
enthusiasm, and as we listened to the most masterly address we had ever 
heard upon this great question, our mental verdict was, This young man 
is the Wendell Phillips of the prohibition movement. 

" A few months later the opportunity was afforded for testing his 
moral courage in connection with another unpopular reform. During 
the excitable campaign in behalf of woman suffrage in Nebraska, at a 
meeting held in the Opera House in Lincoln, Mr. Finch presided, and 
spoke most gracious words of welcome and God-speed. 

" While in Lincoln we attended a Sabbath afternoon temperance ser- 
vice, and the manner in which he was received showed clearly that this 
young prophet was honored and appreciated at home. 

" The one sacred shrine of the philanthropist and the reformer is ever 
his home. In this Mr. Finch was no exception. 

" During the last visit of Mr. Finch to Chicago, it was our pleasure to 
return with himself and wife from the city to Evanston. During the ride 
mention was made of the fact that Mrs. Finch had persistently declined 
an official position tendered her. She said, ' I am determined not to allow 
myself to be so weighted with other duties that I cannot aid Mr. Finch in 
every way through the next few years, for he has promised that after the 
next campaign he will not work so continuously.' As we separated, Mr. 
and Mrs. Finch returning eagerly to their beautiful home, accompanied 



490 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

by ' little John, ' my remark to my husband was, ' Is it not beautiful 
when husband and wife are thus united in heart, aim, interest, and life- 
work?' 

' ' I had feared that Mr. Finch was overlooking the great truth that 
until the opinions of women are crystallized into laws, no vices which 
appeal peculiarly to the tastes and passions of men could be educated 
out of existence ; but a few months before Mr. Finch entered the higher 
life, he wrote requesting that suffrage documents be sent South, and 
letters were received from Southern women reporting some of Mr. 
Finch's brave utterances in regard to the enfranchisement of women in 
the most conservative Southern States. 

" We rejoiced to find that upon this great question also there was 
rectitude of vision in this young, intrepid leader of the prohibition 
forces. 

" Why this brave soul was withdrawn from earth we know not, but if 
we believe in a God of love, of wisdom, of omnipotence, then must we 
gather about this open grave, not only with resignation, but with solemn 
joy, knowing that infinite wisdom and love, in death as in birth, in sor- 
row as in joy, in defeat as in victory, doeth all things well ; that truth 
and right are omnipotent, and that from the beginning until the end the 
banner over us is love. 

"With this abiding faith in the omnipotence of the Good, let us 
* never strike sail to a fear, and put into port bravely or sail with God 
the sea.' " 

EX-GOVERNOR JOHN P. ST. JOHN. 

" In my judgment — based upon ten years' acquaintance— John B. Finch 
was intellectually the peer of any man of his age in this nation. As a 
public speaker, he had no superior. As a political leader, he was 
aggressive and fearless. Socially, he was warm-hearted and generous. 
He idolized his wife and boy, and when God called him, they lost 
their truest earthly friend and humanity one of its ablest defenders." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 491 

JOSEPH COOK. 

" John B. Finch fell dead in Boston, which has seen many historic 
deaths ; but since Warren in his early manhood fell at Bunker Hill, 
there is no death of a young man more pathetic than that of this re- 
former and hero. The soil of this city is henceforth the more sacred 
for having been an altar on which so costly a sacrifice was laid. 

" So much fervor is rarely found combined with so much caution as 
his ; so much impetuosity with so much gentleness ; so much restless- 
ness and daring with so much sagacity and patience. His speech was a 
mirror of his soul. His epigrams had marvellous force. His eloquence 
was a combination of thunderbolt and sunbeam. He was a prophetic 
ray of the dawn of a better age than ours, which will place his name 
among the jewels of its morning stars. ' ' 

SAMUEL DICKIE, 

Chairman Prohibition National Committee. 

" My acquaintance with Mr. Finch covered a period of about five 
years. Although meeting him but seldom, he yet impressed me as a 
remarkable man. 

"As a platform speaker, while always clear and convincing, he could 
be calm, cool, logical, or, at the demand of need, could hurry his capti- 
vated listeners as by a storm of passion to the desired end. As a wise 
and skilful political leader, he was unsurpassed. A brave and true man 
has fallen." 

CHAKLES S. WOLFE, 

Ex- Chairman Prohibition State Committee of Pennsylvania. 
" His loss to our cause seems irreparable. No one was so fully in- 
formed or thoroughly equipped as he for the crisis into which we are 
entering. Why does God strike down our best men at the very time 
they seem to be most needed ? His work and his duty have been most 
ably, faithfully, and completely done. May God have mercy upon those 



492 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

whose neglect of duty made his work so unremitting and arduous. May- 
He make his death even more potent than his vigorous and fruitful life, 
in awakening slumbering Christian patriots and philanthropists to a 
keen perception and faithful discharge of long -neglected duty. May 
God sustain and comfort his loved ones, and permit them to see his 
memory revered as among the most unselfish and noblest patriots and 
benefactors of his race. " 

DR. A. J. GORDON. 

" John B. Finch impressed me always when I heard him as combin- 
ing to a remarkable degree boldness and gentleness, firmness of convic- 
tion and charity of spirit. ' Thou hast loved righteousness and hated 
iniquity ' might well express our tribute to him now that he is gone. 
With all the intensity of his nature he hated the traffic, and with all the 
tenderness of his heart he compassionated its victims. " 

HON. CHARLES S. MAY, 

Ex,- Lieutenant- Governor of Michigan. 

" Though I did not know John B. Finch personally and had seen less 
of him than of many others, I still could not fail to be impressed by his 
commanding abilities. He was a great debater and a great organizer. 

" It is very sad and inscrutable that he should be cut down just at the 
opening of a career of such eminent usefulness and honor. His friends 
are left, indeed, with the proud but pathetic reflection that he has fallen, 
like Quincy and "Warren, at the dawn of another great revolution, which 
his own brave voice has helped to bring on. 

" I regarded him as the ablest of the prohibition leaders." 

MISS CHARLOTTE A. GRAY, 

Organizing Secretary for Europe of the World's Woman's Temperance Union. 

" The news of the death of John B. Finch has come like a shock to 

fill, and especially to those of us who have so lately learned to know 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 493 

and respect him. We wonder why he should have been taken away so 
early in the midst of such a useful life. With him, we believe, it is 
well, and that he has received the ' Well done, good and faithful servant,' 
of the Master. His was a very useful life, and he probably did more for 
his country than many who have lived twice as long." 

JOHN T. TANNER, 

Athens, Alabama. 

" I had read and heard so much of John B. Finch that I expected 
much of him, but on meeting him at the Pittsburg Convention, I dis- 
covered that half had not been told. 

" Some men live too long, some die too soon, but the sun of John B. 
Finch went down in meridian splendor without even a cloudlet in the 
sky. 

" He was a man of culture and refinement, and, better than all, a 
Christian. In the work assigned him he was peerless, and his death is 
a national calamity." 

HON. HENRY W. BLAIR, 

United States Senator from New Hampshire. 

"I had little personal knowledge of Mr. Finch, and think that my im- 
pression of the man must be that made by his public conduct upon the 
mass of his countrymen. 

" When I heard of his death I felt that although a strong pillar had 
fallen, yet his was a career which could not be arrested, and that, like 
Warren on Bunker Hill, he had become an immortal inspiration to every 
one who is consecrated to the welfare of man and the glory of God." 

T. B. DEMAREE, 

Past Grand Chief Templar of Kentucky. 

" For five years I was associated with our fallen chieftain. When 
I first met him upon the floor of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge, I 



494 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

said, ' That man is born a leader.* For three years I served as his deputy 
and was subject to his orders, and was proud of my leader. Many times 
I sought his help, and was never refused. When the treasury was empty 
he supplied me from his own purse. Two days before his death he wrote 
me. While reading his letter my son came with a daily paper announcing 
his death. I cannot describe the shock. The Order has lost a leader 
whose place no man can fill. I shall ever keep in memory the name of 
my faithful friend, John B. Finch." 

GENERAL CLINTON B. FISK. 

" John B. Finch was a genuine reformer, brave and brotherly, true 
and fearless, a faithful friend, whose mighty voice, great heart, and 
splendid genius were consecrated to the cause of the perishing. In the 
history of these times will appear but few names of men around whose 
memory so much affection will linger. He will live more in hearts than 
on marble ; his fame will be broad and lasting, for it will rest upon un- 
selfish heroic devotion to the best interests of mankind. His grasp of 
the great principles on which true Christian government rests, the far- 
stretching insight of his political views, the loftiness of his language, his 
imperial creative genius — all combined to enable this marvellous young 
man to make the world hearken to his appeal in behalf of the American 
home in its struggle for supremacy over the American saloon. The great 
world listens still to him, ' who being dead yet speaketh.' " 

REV. W. SEARLS, 
Chaplain of Auburn State Prison, New York. 
' ' I saw and read with tearful eyes that my dear friend, John B. Finch, 
walks no more among mortals. And my soul said within me, i How are 
the mighty fallen— fallen in the midst of battle ! Can it be ? Shall we 
hear his voice no more ? ' Such a man, such a leader gone in the midst 
of his years, gone to his reward ! The cause he so fearlessly advocated, 
and that, too, with such matchless power, could ill afford to spare him." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 495 

HON. SAMUEL D. HASTINGS, 

Past Bight Worthy Grand Templar, Madison, Wis. 

" John B. Finch was one of the most unselfish, self-sacrificing men I 
have ever known. He always seemed ready to give his substance, his 
time, his talents, his zeal, his very life for the good of others. His re- 
ligion was a religion of deeds rather than of words ; it was of the great 
unobtrusive kind that, ' Let not the left hand know what the right 
hand doeth.' " 

K. S. CHEVIS, 
Past Grand Chief Templar of Kentucky, and Mrs. B. S. Ohevis. 

" Mr. Finch's knowledge of the temperance reform was as thorough 
as observation, information, and experience could well make it. 

" Sacrificing ultimate wealth and distinction in his profession at law, 
he entered the temperance work from a sense of duty, and with him it 
was a conscientious undertaking ; consequently he applied himself at 
once to lay a foundation so strong that the temple when erected should 
never fall. Educated in the school of total abstinence, and espousing 
that standard of temperance from principle and not policy, he readily 
comprehended the rights and advantages of prohibition. 

" He had learned that the saloon was the child of moderation — that 
the whole system of the drink traffic had its life and support in the 
doctrine that it was the abuse and not the use of intoxicating drinks 
that produced evil. So long as moderation prevailed as the standard 
of temperance, just so long would the saloon have a right to exist. 
From a scientific standpoint, he believed even the moderate use of 
liquor as a beverage sinful, being contrary to God's law and nature's 
law. Hence, as an advocate of total abstinence, he had not only a moral 
principle to act upon, but a conscience to sustain and support- him. His 
logical conclusions were, that if total abstinence was a good thing for 
the individual, prohibition was a good thing for the State ; that he could 



496 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

with equal propriety support both ; for while one was a moral and the 
other a legal force, yet they were one and the same in principle. 

" When applied to the individual we call it total abstinence ; when 
applied to the State, prohibition. Thus he taught that in this great 
reform both moral and legal forces were necessary to ensure success. 

" Mr. Finch went farther in the establishment of a successful method 
to build upon than any of his predecessors. Although many of them 
believed in total abstinence, they could not or did not comprehend the 
benefits of prohibition ; and while others favored prohibition as a meas- 
ure of political economy, they did not understand that the success of 
prohibition depended upon the practice of total abstinence. 

"Mr. Finch's education and great brain force enabled him early in 
life to grasp the situation and comprehend the necessities of the reform, 
while his true philanthropy and generous heart led him to sacrifice all 
personal ambitions and devote his life to the cause of suffering humanity. 

' ' Presenting as he did a sensible and practical theory, his teachings 
were readily accepted, and to the astonishment of the world we find 
him, at the age of thirty-five, a philosopher, statesman, and leader at the 
head of the greatest social, moral, and political reform that has ever 
been attempted during the civilization of man. 

" The history of prohibition cannot be written without the history of 
our departed leader. His exposition of the fundamental principles 
involved in the reform is a part of its history, and his thoughts and 
acts are so thoroughly embedded in the reformation that the future his- 
torian cannot write one without the other. Generations yet unborn 
will rise up and honor his name as one of the greatest benefactors of 
the human race. 

" In concluding this short review, we desire to record our personal 
appreciation of Brother Finch's character, wisdom, and philanthropy. 
We sincerely believe that this country never produced his equal, and 
we mourn him not only as a leader and public benefactor, but as a true 
and devoted personal friend, whose loving spirit, kind words, and gentle 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 497 

deeds will be to us a sweet memory and consolation through all the 
years to come. 

" God bless the heroic life of our beloved John B. Finch !" 

CHICAGO "DAILY NEWS." 

" John B. Finch was sincerely admired and beloved. His talents 
were of an unusually high order, and he applied them with great enthu- 
siasm and force in the cause of temperance. The distinct good he did 
that cause is fully recognized ; what further glorious ends he might 
have accomplished in its behalf had he been spared to fulfil his career 
of energetic usefulness — these can only be guessed at now, and their 
accomplishment seems farther and farther away. By his death the pro- 
hibition cause in America has lost one of its ablest leaders. 

"But for other reasons, too, his loss is deplored, for John B. Finch 
was a man of great heart ; his charity was tender and far-reaching, and 
his hands were prompt to do the manly deeds which his generous nature 
ever inspired. Rarely has it been our fortune to meet with a man com- 
bining to so marked a degree the most admirable qualities of head and 

heart. 

" ' And so they weep, 

Knowing they shall not see again 

This bravest, fairest, best of men 

That is for aye asleep.' " 

THE NEW YOEK " PIONEER." 

" In person Mr. Finch was tall, heavily built, and shapely. Physically 
as intellectually, he was marvellously powerful. Though passionately 
fond of hunting and athletic sport, he denied himself all recreation for 
the past ten years, and labored unceasingly for the cause of reform. In 
his personal habits he was plain and unostentatious. Of the many 
costly presents of jewelry he had received he only wore a gold watch, 
presented by his temperance friends in Nebraska. 



498 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

" In religion he had no prejudices. He was a simple Christian, with 
a confidence in his God that was strong and abiding. At the time of 
his death he was a member of the Methodist Church at his Evanston 
home. ' ' 

THE "LEVER." 

' ' Mr. Finch was an indomitable worker, far too much so for his own 
good. He gave himself no rest, even when rest was the absolute de- 
mand of his physical being. He has been almost constantly in the field 
for months past, doing as much work on the platform as any man ought 
to undertake, and in addition to this attending to his large correspond- 
ence, consulting friends about the work, and looking after the thousand 
and one details of that work, when he ought to have been in bed recuper- 
ating his wasted powers." 

THE UTICA "DAILY PRESS." 

"By the death of John B. Finch the cause of prohibition loses its 
ablest advocate. He was known as one of the most eloquent and forcible 
temperance orators in the country, and devoted his time for several 
years to speaking in the interests of temperance and prohibition." 

THE " GOOD TEMPLAR," 

Glasgow, Scotland. 

" Mr. Finch was tender and sympathetic, yet he was bold as a lion, 
and it might be truly said of him that he ' never feared the face of 
man. ' ' ' 

THE SALT LAKE "DAILY TRIBUNE." 

" From Boston, where he died, to the eastern base of the Rocky 
Mountains, there is lamentation over his death in every temperance 
circle, and from every point comes the exclamation : 

" ' No man can take his place.' " 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 490 

THE "KESCUE," 

Sacramento, Cal. 

" His work was one of self-sacrifice, working for the elevation and 
amelioration of the condition of millions who are in bondage. He was 
essentially a worker, and, as was not altogether unexpected to himself or 
his friends, he died with the harness of work literally upon him. Peace 
to his ashes." 

THE "NATIONAL TEMPERANCE ADVOCATE." 

" At this important juncture, when the temperance question is becom- 
ing an absorbing national question as never before, so gifted and able a 
leader can ill be spared. The work to which his life was dedicated and 
for which it was sacrificed, it must, especially in its educational aspect, 
be the duty of many henceforth to share and promote, until with God's 
blessing the end he sought is achieved — the prevalence of total absti- 
nence from all intoxicating beverages and the entire legal prohibition of 
the drink traffic." 

"THE STATE SENTINEL," 

Decatur, III. 

" While his eloquent and convincing voice is hushed and keen in- 
cisive pen is still, John B. Finch is not dead nor his work ended. Nearly 
a million Good Templars, with ritual in nineteen different languages, 
are pledged to carry forward the principles for which he so bravely, 
unselfishly, and successfully battled. Three hundred thousand organ- 
ized prohibition voters, of whose executive committee he was the head, 
most of whom at some time have felt the inspiring influence of his 
matchless logic, will never sheathe the sword of truth until the idea to 
which his life was consecrated is crowned into law by the verdict of the 
great American jury." 



500 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

"THE EVANSTON CITIZEN," 

October 6, 1887. 

" In the death of Mr. Finch the Prohibition Party has lost an able, 
honest, fearless leader and counsellor ; the temperance platform has 
lost its most brilliant, eloquent, and sincere orator, and this country 
never lost a truer citizen — one who always put principle before policy. 

" While men differed with Mr. Finch in his views, they nevertheless 
gave him credit for his honesty and admired him for his fearlessness. 
Without doubt the loss thus sustained by the temperance cause will, in 
a great measure, cement the workers in a closer union for the abolition 
of the drink curse. " 

THE " YOUTH'S TEMPERANCE BANNER." 

" He loved children, and could entertain and instruct them as few are 
able to do. We told you one time of his talk to the children at a big 
meeting at Saratoga last May. We shall never forget it, nor his descrip- 
tion of cider-making, his disgust of the tobacco habit, so plainly shown 
by his expressive features, and his few but well-chosen words. We 
wondered at the time if any one who heard him would ever wish to drink 
cider. 

" Boys can imitate his example in this way. They can and should 
keep their mouths pure and clean. They can do so by keeping strong 
drink and tobacco out and using no profane or impure words. They 
can store their minds with useful knowledge. This is not to be found 
in trashy novels. Mr. Finch read everything which would help him. 
He would take up a book of facts and arguments and read it as eagerly 
as a hungry boy would eat his dinner. He read useful books, and re- 
membered what he read." 

The following letter was received from the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union of Lincoln, Neb. : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 501 

" To Mrs. F. E. Finch : 

" Again and again the church bell tolls, and the emblems of mourn- 
ing flutter in the breeze ; we heed them not, for he was a stranger who 
died ; but not so to-day. A brother has gone, and though far away from 
home when he stepped into the unseen, with you we heard — we mourn ; 
but while we mourn we rejoice that his works are with us continually to 
increase in their influence. 

" The union for which he first labored unite in sending sympathy. 

" May God and the right be your comfort and solace." 

The following resolutions were adopted by the Right 
Worthy Grand Lodge Executive Committee at its first 
meeting after the loss of Mr. Finch from its councils : 

"Whereas, In the Providence of Almighty God, our honored brother, 
John B. Finch, Bight Worthy Grand Templar, has been early and sud- 
denly removed from arduous and self-denying labor to everlasting rest 
and reward. 

" Resolved, That we place on record our high estimate of the pure and 
noble character, the exalted intellectual gifts, and the self-sacrificing 
devotion of our beloved leader. His keen, cogent logic and impassioned 
eloquence, informed as they were by an almost inexhaustible knowledge 
of the facts and philosophy of temperance, and enforced by a burning 
hatred of iniquity, an absolute loyalty to truth and righteousness, and a 
tender and Christ-like love for his fellow-men, made him a model re- 
former. 

''Wise in council ; firm, kind, and judicious in administration ; fear- 
less in conflict ; faithful in friendship ; he was singularly qualified for 
the pre-eminent position of leadership to which he was called. 

" To all gifts and acquirements he added a sweetness and affability of 
disposition and a generosity of soul, which won for him not only the 
respect and admiration, but also the love of those who knew him. 



502 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

'* Resolved, That, while realizing the greatness of our loss, we desire 
to bow in reverent submission to the will of God. ' Clouds and dark- 
ness are round about Him ; righteousness and judgment are the foun- 
dation of His throne.' What we know not now we shall know hereafter ; 
but this we know, ' He doeth all things well. ' For the life — for us, alas ! 
too early closed— a beautiful example to young men and a benediction 
to the world, we give thanks to our Heavenly Father. 

" Resolved, That we respectfully proffer to Sister Finch our deep and 
true sympathy, and assure her of our fraternal regard, supplicating for 
her and her boy the richest consolations Of Divine grace. 

" Resolved, That we will strive to honor the memory of our revered 
and beloved chief by consecrating ourselves afresh, with unreserved de- 
votion, to the work to which he gave his life ; especially by earnestly 
laboring to make our beloved Order what John B. Finch desired it might 
become — the great missionary temperance organization of the world." 

The following resolutions and letter were received from 
California : 

" Mrs. John B. Finch, Evanston, III. 

1 ' Dear Sister : The sad news of the sudden decease of your beloved 
husband was announced at the opening meeting of the annual session 
of the Grand Lodge Independent Order Good Templars of California, 
which was held at Pacific Grove Ketreat, commencing October 4th, 1887. 
In the evening of the day named memorial services were held, at which 
addresses were delivered by O. C. Wheeler, P.G.C.T. ; C. S. Haswell, 
P.G.C.T. ; George B. Katzenstein, P.R.W.G.T. ; Eobert Thompson, 
P.G.C.T. ; Mrs. Lydia F. Luse ; Eev. W. J. B. Stacey, and J. M. Wall- 
ing, G.C.T., after which the following was unanimously adopted, and is 
hereby officially transmitted : 

"Whereas, This Grand Lodge has, within the last few hours, re- 
ceived by telegraph the sad announcement that ' John B. Finch fell 
dead last night at East Boston, Mass. ; • 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 503 

"And Whereas, The stroke that removed John B. Finch from f earth- 
life ' took from the highest pinnacle of fame in our Order, our chief ex- 
ecutive head — a champion of our cause, honored and loved throughout 
the Good Templar world ; 

" And "Whekeas, His recent labors in this jurisdiction — labors that 
stamped him as a master workman, in the highest sense of the term — 
labors that left an impress upon the public mind, deep and lasting — 
labors, the consequences of which will run parallel with duration — af- 
forded us an opportunity to know his worth as we could not have known 
it under any other circumstances ; 

" And Whereas, It is becoming in an organization whose work is the 
warp and woof of human weal throughout the whole world to make per- 
manent record of the labors and achievements of its most successful and 
its greatest advocates ; 

" And Whereas, Our late leader had, in early life, become eminently 
learned and wise in the science of moral, social, and political law ; which 
learning and wisdom he brought to the advocacy of total abstinence 
from the social use of all intoxicants, and the constitutional prohibition 
of their manufacture and sale, fired with a fervor of zeal that yielded to 
no weariness, a consecration without reserve, and an energy that ab- 
sorbed his whole being ; 

" And Whereas, The elegance of his rhetoric, the purity of his logic, 
the clearness and force of his illustrations, combined to make his argu- 
ments absolutely irresistible ; forcing from the most astute unbelievers 
in his doctrines the acknowledgment that he had proved his propositions ; 

" And Whereas, He had, by indefatigable application of an intellect 
rare in the harmony of its construction and forceful in its development 
of great principles, and by the assiduous culture of a heart, warm as a 
woman's and glowing as an angel's, attained a power over the human 
mind that swayed at will audiences rich in intellect and vast in numbers, 
as few men of any age ever did or ever could ; 

" And Whereas, His vast attainments had pointed him out as a fit 



504 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

head and leader and representative of the grandest moral and social 
organization on earth, and a man to conduct the serried hosts of more 
than six hundred thousand total abstainers from intoxicants, in their 
march through a battle greater and to a victory more glorious than the 
world has seen beside — even the banishment of the intoxicating cup 
from the face of the whole earth, and the restoration of temperance, 
truth, and brotherly love among all mankind ; therefore, be it 

" Resolved, 1st, That we, as Good Templars, individually call upon 
our souls, and all within us, to bow, with unfeigned humiliation and 
submission, to the terrible dispensation that has bereaved us beyond 
the power of language to express. 

" Resolved, 2d, That this bereavement calls upon and demands of 
every Good Templar throughout the world to renew consecration and 
to redouble energy in the great work we have undertaken — the rescue of 
the fallen and the preservation of the upright. 

" Resolved, 3d, That as the breach in the ranks of hottest battle is 
closed by the voluntary acts of the brave, in at once taking the place of 
the fallen, so every one of our hosts should forthwith strive to aid in 
supplying the place of him whose irreparable loss we have just sustained. 

" Resolved, 4th, That this sudden calamity, falling upon us like a shaft 
of ethereal fire from a cloudless noon-day, is a most solemn admonition 
to each of us to be so faithful in duty and so prompt in action that 
whenever we are called hence, whether at midnight or at noon, the hour 
that shall close our work shall witness, in our case, as it did in his, the 
perfection of all our hands have found to do. 

" Resolved, 5th, That at this critical moment the rousing battle-cry of 
a gifted sister who, when about to pass the f gate ajar, ' dipped her pen 
in living light ' and spread it broadcast o'er the world,' should be 
adopted by each as addressed to us : 

" ' On, brothers, on ; though the night be gone, 
And the morning glory breaking ; 
Though your toils be blest, ye may not rest, 
For danger's ever waking. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 505 

" ' Ye have spread your sail, ye have braved the gale, 
And a calm o'er the sea is creeping' ; 
But I know by the sky that danger's nigh, 
There's yet no time for sleeping. 

" ' Still dingy walls nurse midnight brawls ; 
Up from the vale is wreathing 
A fatal cloud, the soul to shroud, 
While man its poison's breathing. 

" ' Still vice is seen in glittering sheen, 
In the ruby bubble laughing ; 
But death his shrine has reared in wine, 
And the young blood he is quaffing. 

" ' When the beaker's brim with rust is dim, 
Because no lip will press it ; 
When the worm is dead, which ever fed 
On the heart that dared caress it ; 

" ' When the gay, false light of eyes so bright 
Be too true for thought to smother ; 
When the art be lost and the demon tossed, 
And man tempt not his brother, 

"'Then, peaceful and blest, from toil ye may rest, 
Else rest is but in heaven ; 
For shame still lies in sad, wet eyes, 
Still hearts with woe are riven. 

" ' Then on, brothers, on ; though the night be gone 
And the morning glory breaking ; 
Though your toils be blest, ye may not rest, 
For danger, danger's waking.' 

" Resolved, 6th, That this Grand Lodge hereby tenders to the be- 
reaved widow and family of the deceased the most profound condolence 



506 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

and the warmest sympathies of our hearts, in this, their hour of unutter- 
able sorrow and woe. 

" Resolved, 7th, That, in the printed proceedings of this annual ses- 
sion, a memorial page, with suitable emblems, be devoted to the memory 
of our departed chief. 

" Resolved, 8th, That this report and accompanying proceedings be 

spread upon our minutes, and an engrossed copy thereof be forwarded 

to the family of the deceased. 

" O. C. Wheeler, "1 

" K. Thompson, ! 

it n ci tt y Committee" 

" C. S. Haswell, 

" M. C. Winchester, J 

Memorial resolutions and letters of sympathy were re- 
ceived from all parts of the world, very few of which can 
be given. 

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts sent the follow- 
ing : 

" Whereas, In the Providence of Almighty God, our brother, the be- 
loved and honored head of our Order, the Hon. John B. Finch, has been 
suddenly removed from his labors to his everlasting rest and glorious 
reward, 

" Resolved, 1st, That while perplexed and distressed under the stroke 
of this calamity, by which a young and beautiful life has been so prema- 
turely closed, we bow in humble submission to the will of our Heavenly 
Father, recognizing that His appointments are perfect in love and wis- 
dom, as they are supreme in authority and power. 

" Resolved, 2d, That, with gratitude to God, we place on record our 
high estimate of the character of our departed chief as a Christian, a 
Good Templar, a fearless, enthusiastic, and untiring reformer, a wise, 
kind, and capable leader. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 507 

H Endowed "with extraordinary powers, invincible in argument, capti- 
vating in oratory, he charmed alike by his lucid and incisive logic and 
his commanding eloquence. 

" A heroic champion of truth and righteousness, a determined assail- 
ant of falsehood and wrong, he gave the greatest social evil which afflicts 
our race no quarter ; yet he never battled maliciously. His soul was set 
upon the deliverance of his country and of the world from the bitter 
and blighting curse of intemperance. He laid his axe at the root of the 
tree, and the upas growth trembled before his keen, resistless strokes. 
He aimed his sword at the very heart of the enemy, and fought for noth- 
ing less than the complete and eternal overthrow of the liquor traffic — 
that compact with hell, that { covenant with sin and death.' 

" In the camp of the foe, as well as among the hosts of the temper- 
ance crusade, it is felt and confessed that ' a prince and a great man has 
fallen.' 

" Resolved, 3d, That we recognize in our beloved brother not only the 
gifted orator and the cogent and conclusive reasoner, but also the man 
of statesman-like qualities, as wise in council as he was powerful in 
advocacy. 

£ ' His organizing and administrative abilities were remarkable. His 
hands touched the springs of every department of temperance work. 
His active mind was ever devising new plans and methods of usefulness. 
His large heart throbbed with benevolent impulses and generous purpose. 

" In private life he was pure, noble, lovable — a devoted husband, an 
indulgent father ; while in public life he was a kingly man — a sovereign 
spirit, by virtue of the affluence and variety of his gifts and attainments, 
the intensity of his zeal, the unreservedness of his devotion, the con- 
stancy of his labors, the honesty of his purpose, the sweetness and 
courtesy of his demeanor. 

" Resolved, 4th, That, while sensible of the irreparable loss which our 
beloved Order and the cause of temperance and humanity in general 
have sustained by the death of Brother Finch, we recognize the heavier 



508 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

loss and deeper sorrow of the widow and the fatherless, and respectfully 

tender to Sister Finch our true fraternal sympathy, and pledge her our 

earnest prayers. 

" Charles L. Abbott, G.C.T. 

" Saeah A. Leonard, G.S. 

" William Leonard, P. G.C.T. j- Committee" 

"Jessie Forsyth, G.W.S. 

" James Yeames, G.W.C. 

The Grand Lodge of Yorkshire, England, sent the fol- 
lowing to Mrs. Finch : 

* ' Dear Sister : The Executive of the Grand Lodge of Yorkshire was 
convened at the earliest possible moment after the official announcement 
of the death of our late unrivalled chief, your beloved husband, and 
passed the following resolution of sympathy : 

" We, the Executive of the Grand Lodge of Yorkshire, desire to express 
our warmest sympathy with Sister Finch in her bereavement, and ar- 
dently hope the Disposer of events will sustain and be her comforter 
in this great affliction. We feel her loss is an irreparable one, and 
that words are of little or no avail in arresting the full tide of sorrow ; 
yet we were unworthy our faith did we not assure our sister that her 
sorrow is also our grief, and is universally shared. In the loss of our il- 
lustrious chief the world has lost a worthy citizen and humanity a sincere 
friend, whose life-work will be remembered for aye, and whose memory 
will be enshrined in Templar history for all time. 

" Yours, in profound sorrow and sympathy, 

"Charles Dover, G.S." 

Chester County District Lodge of Pennsylvania issued 
beautiful mourning cards with the following inscrip- 
tion : 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 509 

" In loving memory of our 

Bight Woethy Geand Templar, 

JOHN B. FINCH, 

Founder of the District System. 

' ' He liveth long who liveth well, 
All else is being flung away ; 
He liveth longest who can tell 
Of true things truly done each day.' 

On the memorial page of the Journal of Kansas Grand 
Lodge, 1887, the following appeared : 

" Dead ! while his voice was living yet, 
In echoes round the pillared dome ! 
Dead ! while his blotted page lay wet 
With themes of State and loves of home. 

" Dead ! in that crowning grace of time, 
That triumph of life's zenith hour ! 
Dead ! while we watched his manhood's prime 
Break from the slow bud into flower ! 

" Dead ! he so great, and strong, and wise, 

While the mean thousands yet drew breath ; 
How deepened, through that dread surprise, 
The mystery and awe of death ! 

" We sweep the land from hill to strand ; 
We seek the strong, the good, the brave, 
And, sad of heart, return to stand 
In silence by a new-made grave. " 



510 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 



MEMORIAL POEMS IN MEMORY OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

BY CHAKLES WESLEY KYLE. 

Lo ! he is dead, 
This brilliant leader of our cause, 

This brave defender of the right ; 
This advocate of purer laws, 
Who charmed and filled us with delight — 
Can he be dead ? 

Ah ! who could know 
That he we loved and cherished so 

Would, in the brightest hour of life, 
With intellect and soul aglow, 
Amid the conflict and the strife, 
Be stricken low ? 

We stand aghast ! 
To think his life is o'er and past 

While yet his sun was at its noon ; 
Its brightest rays should be its last ; 
And midnight's chill and silent gloom 
O'er him be cast. 

Illustrious dead ! 
Sleep well ; of thee 'twill e'er be said : 

He did what mortal man could do 
Mankind with truth to firmly wed ; 
Their souls with honor to imbue 
In error's stead. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 511 



BY KEV. E. M. OFFORD. 

Hark ! I hear quaint voices singing, 
Out upon the night air ringing ; 
Grief, and Hope, and Faith, and Fear, 
These the voices that I hear. 

"lis a medley that they sing ; 

Patient but a while remain ; 

I will seek to catch each strain, 
Unto you the measures bring. 

Grief Sings : 

A hero hath fallen ! 

Well, well may we weep 
For tho cause that hath lost him, 
Full dearly it cost him. 

Say, why should he sleep ? 

Fear Sings : 

A hero hath fallen ! 

His work is all done. 
We mourn his life's ending ; 
Will his mantle descending 

Find e'er such a one ? 

Hope Sings : 

A hero hath fallen ! 

Rich sacrifice made. 
'Twas a life worth the living, 
And a life worth the giving, 

On the altar he laid. 



512 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

A hero hath fallen ! 

But dying he speaks ; 
His life tells the story ; 
'Tis good and not glory 

The Patriot seeks. 

Faith Sings : 

Death reapeth the Reapers, 

And layeth them low. 
Say, rather, these sleepers 

Are seed that we sow. 
The grave cannot hold them, 

They soon shall arise ; 
Yon mansions enfold them, 

Where man never dies. 

A hero hath fallen ! 

Tfye cause is not lost. 
His life shall inspire us, 
His courage shall fire us. 

Press on at all cost. 

Faith and Hope Together Sing : 

' Tis with toils and not with tears 
We must labor through the years. 
Fight till every foe is down ; 
None but victors wear the crown. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 513 



BY HABVEY J. WABNEB. 

(Read at a memorial service held in the Washington Street Methodist Episcopal Church, 
Brooklyn, October 11th, 1887, by the Young Men's Prohibition Club of Kings County.) 

We bow in sorrow o'er our dead 

Chief Templar of the land ; 
And dauntless partisan, who led 

The Prohibition Band. 

He fell, a soldier on the field 

While at his j)ost. His heart, 
Pent with commissioned truth to wield, 

Received the fatal dart 

That broke the shaft, and life so pure 

And luminous was riven ; 
And angel bands in triumph bore 

His spotless soul to heaven. 

Pell, ere defacing time had marr'd 

The vigor of his youth ; 
Fell in the conflict, pressing hard 

The enemies of Truth. 

Torn from devoted hearts, who knew 

The riches of his love ; 
Snatched from his work impelled to do 

To Saints' reward— above. 

Prom place to place, urging his speed, 

He travelled o'er the fields, 
And scattered everywhere the seed 

That prohibition yields. 



514 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

He stood a foe with all his zeal 

To parties of all kind 
Upholding rum ; and made them feel 

The rigor of his mind. 

With rum he would not stoop to take 

The honors of a State ; 
He would not for his conscience' sake 

Thus compromise his hate. 

The every impulse he obeyed 
Seemed born of virtue's might ; 

For prohibition worked and prayed — 
A votary of Eight ! 

He toiled in every home to blend 
Virtues that triumphs win ; 

From platforms swords of truth would send 
To free the world from sin. 

The languor of that placid face 
And shrouded eye and sight 

Pleads with the universal race 
To triumph in the fight. 

As in the conflict we pursue, 

Faithful to public weal, 
May embers of his fires renew 

His followers with zeal. 

Our brother's purposes shall stand 

A monument of Bight ! 
Bum shall not rule our native land, 

Our sacredness to blight ! 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 515 

Few of our land with him could cope 

On platform — in debate ; 
His lucid speech and boundless scope, 

Like thunderbolts went straight. 

Great largess to our cause he brought ; 

With singleness of soul, 
Through darkness and defeat still fought 

For prohibition' s goal. 

A blessed boon, a life so true — 

Impelled to temp 'ranee zeal — 
His speech would everywhere renew 

Hope for the Nation's weal. 

His fruitful years stand forth replete, 

A beacon clear and bright ; 
A corn-shock for the Master mete, 

And garnered with delight. 



BY SAMUEL GBEENWOOD. 

There is no flower alive with nature's gladness 
But some hot blast is waiting to lay low ; 

There is no joy so full but some great sadness 
Is waiting to o' ershadow us with woe. 

There is no love or hope to mortals given 
But turns at last the currents of our bliss ; 

There is no friend so strong this side of Heaven, 
But Death is waiting with his quiet kiss— 



516 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

The kiss of death from angels' lips imparted ! 

The kiss of life from the eternal God ! 
Oh, we have lost the bravest, noblest-hearted, 

That in these vice-thronged, snare-laid ways have trod ! 

From East to West, from Scotia's sea-washed beaches 
To where the sunset gilds the "Western shore, 

The universal voice of mourning reaches, 
And hearts and homes are sorrow-swept and sore. 

Our chief has fallen, in his full fruition 
Of hope and honor and unsullied name ; 

The ceaseless fire of his great ambition 
At freedom's altar burned with holy flame. 

His was a zeal no obstacles abated, 

His was a purpose deep as love and life ; 

With every will and feeling consecrated, 
No power turned him in his holy strife. 

With heart and mind of strong and tender beauty, 
With soul and arm firm in his faith above, 

He knew no lower call than God and duty, 
He gave no blow that was not born of love. 

O mothers of this vice-ruled generation, 

O mothers of the nations yet to be, 
He lived to save your homes from desolation, 

He died to make your sons and husbands free ! 

O grieving friends, his place is void forever, 
No monumental stone can tell our loss ; 

Go follow up his work with brave endeavor, 
And let us share the burdens and the cross. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 517 

Gird on the sword, let all brave men succeed him ; 

Lift high his standard, tread the path he trod ; 
Let nations hear his battle cry of freedom, 

And we may win this shackled world for God. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

GEMS FROM LETTERS AND SPEECHES. 

£6 y ■ ^O accomplish our aim — the overthrow of the liquor traffic — we 
i must get down on our knees and ask God's help, and not that 
only, but we must be willing to do all in our power individually in the 
way of active aggressive work." 

" I know the disheartening obstacles in the way, and the enormity of 
the task before us to accomplish the prohibition of the liquor traffic. 
But we must not stop or falter because of this. We must talk, believe, 
feel, pray, and work." 

" This struggle long ago ceased to be a moral pastime, which men can 
pick up and lay down at their will. That it is a bitter fight, a war that 
must eventuate either in the destruction of the liquor power or in the 
annihilation of the Christian Sabbath and everything that is dear to a 
Christian nation, is evident to all." 

" Every person must either be in favor of the sale of liquor or against 
it. There is no neutral ground. " 

' ' That man who votes for the license of the sale of liquor is equally 
as responsible for the misery and crime it causes as the man who 
sells it." 

" I would advise mothers to throw open their parlors and sitting- 
rooms to their boys ; to put away their ornaments which boyish 
hands must never touch, let God's sunlight in even if it does fade the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 519 

carpet, and make their houses a ' home ' for their loved ones, instead of 
a place to stay in after all other ' places ' are closed." 

" An old bachelor is only half a man." 

" Old men have fought more than half the battle for prohibition. Now 
we call upon the young men to come to the rescue and win tha fight." 

" Every man is our brother." 

" When I see men ' on the fence ' in regard to the prohibition ques- 
tion, I sometimes wish the fence was sharp enough to cut them in two, 
that we might have our half." 

" The opportunity to drink creates the appetite." 

" Moral suasion is secondary to legal suasion, and political suasion is 
master of both." 

"If any man wishes to know what makes his taxes so high, and where 
the money is used, let him read the report of the supervisors, county 
commissioners, etc. He will find that the expenditures for the support 
of paupers, made such by drunkenness and other damages, the direct or 
indirect cause of which results from the sale of intoxicating liquors, is 
the principal cause of high taxes." 

" The men who sell intoxicating drinks should be compelled to ' foot 
the bills ' for all consequential damages resulting from their trade." 

" No Good Templar has a right to vote in any manner whatever for 
the support of the liquor license." 

" Alcohol is not found in nature ; it is the product of rottenness, com- 
ing in only at nature's death ; consequently there can be no natural 
appetite for it." 

" To claim that stimulants are necessary to man's existence is to claim 
that God did not know the needs of the creatures He created." 



520 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

"The so-called 'moderate drinker' is a more dangerous man in a 
community than the common drunkard, because of the evil influence he 
exerts." 

" I would not trust my life in the hands of a tippling physician." 

" Legal suasion and moral suasion should be worked together ; it is 
folly to oppose either. One is the bones and the other is the flesh of 
the temperance body." 

" It is a violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution of the 
United States to grant license to men to sell intoxicating liquors." 

" I used to think a ' strong-minded ' woman was a humbug, but I now 
think that a weak-minded woman is a fizzle." 

" It would be more profitable to have grass grow in the streets of a 
city than to have drunkards grow in them." 

" Alcoholic drink taken by a healthy person is never beneficial, but 
always injurious. It is not assimilated by the system, but prevents the 
stomach from digesting its wholesome food. It attacks and partially or 
totally destroys the brain and the whole nervous system and muscular 
tissue." 

" The ' appetite ' for intoxicating liquor is a misnomer. It is a dis- 
ease, and the victim of it should be pitied and helped, not despised and 
punished. He should be treated in hospitals for the disease, not sent 
to prisons for punishment. The man who sells the poisonous stuff 
should answer for the vice and crime it produces, not the victim who is 
poisoned by it. If a man goes to a drug-store and buys a bottle of 
medicine, and goes home and takes it and becomes poisoned and is 
made sick by it, the druggist or prescription clerk is fined or imprisoned, 
not the victim. The laws for punishing the drunkard and lettiDg the 
drunkard-maker go free are absurd and unjust." 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 521 

" The argument that public sentiment should be educated to a com- 
plete acceptance of prohibition before prohibitory laws are enacted is 
the purest nonsense. Everybody will readily admit the absurdity of 
the idea that people should be educated to be perfectly honest before 
laws should be passed against stealing. Laws must come first, and 
learning to live up to them will always follow.' ' 

" The most common and most powerful cause of prostitution among 
our girls and women is wine and beer drinking. " 

" It makes no difference whether alcohol be in the shape of brandy or 
beer, the effect is the same upon the victim. To separate beer from 
ardent spirits in legislation, and exempting beer and wine from the 
strong restrictions against the stronger beverages, will prove terribly 
disastrous." 

" A man who is not a total abstainer from alcoholic beverages is not 
fit to preach the Gospel of Christ. " 

" To see Christian men voting to place men in official positions who 
drink, swear, and frequent houses of prostitution, because they are can- 
didates on a particular party ticket, is a disgusting spectacle." 

" The most dangerous swindle on earth is a religious swindle." 

" The rum power is doomed in America." 

" The Christian Church, to purge itself from all complicity with the 
unholy rum traffic, must banish alcoholic liquors from the communion 
table, convert or expel its tippling communicants, and refuse to stain its 
righteous coffers with the blood money of the liquor-dealer." 

"It is humbuggery to ask God to do what we are too lazy to do our- 
selves. " 

" The fear of damnation makes church-members, but the love of Christ 

makes Christians." 



522 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

11 A man may be a temperance man and not be a Christian, but a. man 
cannot be a true Christian who is not a temperance man." 

[ 
" To license a man to sell rum because he will break law and sell with- 
out license if you don't, is simply compounding felony and rewarding a 
criminal for his crime." 

"Beer drinking and beer saloons make people idle, ignorant, and 
immoral." 

" The beer saloons of America are the hot-beds which propagate com- 
munism and anarchy." 

' ' Wine and beer, commonly called the lighter drinks, are the devil's 
kindling wood to kindle the fire of appetite, and thus accomplish the 
first fatal step downward to a drunkard's grave." 

" The churches insist on divorcing themselves from individual duty, 
and at the same time seem to wish to monopolize all morality. They 
have fought more over doctrine than over morals ; more over the the- 
ological than over the practical. There have been no great theological 
battles over war, intemperance, slavery, oppression of the poor, etc.; 
but over the questions of baptism, communion, or the meaning of some 
phrase about which the people know little and care less, the controversy 
has been prolonged and deep. If a surgeon would allow a man to bleed 
to death while debating what method of compress it was best to use, he 
would be a murderer ; so the skirts of the Church are stained with the 
blood of those who have been lost while theologians have debated 
whether aionios means everlasting and whether Christ was immersed or 
sprinkled. The all important question of man's salvation has been 
made secondary to the question of how to save him. No cause has been 
more neglected by the Church than the temperance reform in point of 
practical aid. Thousands of dollars are raised yearly for foreign mis- 
sions, but our temperance publication houses have yet to receive any 
substantial aid from the Church as a Church. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 523 

" All this is not the result of Christianity, but is caused by the lack of 
genuine Christianity. It is the natural result of substituting for the 
practical work of Christ the theories of denomination ; of preaching the 
Church first and Christ afterward. I do not for a moment doubt that 
the Church will ultimately take the temperance question up and help 
carry it to a successful issue, but I am very impatient at its seeming 
reluctance to take the lead in this matter." 

" The coronet on the brow of kings and nobles, the grandest mental 
endowments, the highest culture, the most brilliant eloquence offer no 
protection against the insidious approach of the remorseless habit of 
drinking. No class on earth is protected. Yes, there is one class from 
which no victim has been snatched, no loved one taken, no honored one 
seized. That class is the total abstainers." 

" The temperance people of this country have no more opposition to 
a saloon-keeper, as a saloon-keeper, than they have to a minister as a 
minister. The effects of the work of each is what they condemn or up- 
hold. A man is tried not because of his works, but because the results 
are good or bad." 

" Men talk of the vested rights of the saloon-keeper. There is no 
such thing, and the man who prates about the vested rights of a saloon- 
keeper talks the sheerest demagoguery that ever fell from the lips of a 
fool. He pays cash from year to year for the privilege of making drunk- 
ards of boys, of making homes miserable, of wrecking men and ruining 
women ; but the right to do it does not exist." 

"The rights of man are limited where they clash with the rights of 
other men." 

" Government can take man and put him up to be shot at to protect 
its interests ; then certainly it should protect him from the dirty beer*- 
shop that is trying to murder him." 



524 TEE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" We want no compromise with the liquor traffic ; no half-way meas- 
ures ; no gilding over of the great sin ; no overtures of peace with the 
grog-shop, so destructive of human happiness. " 

" It does not matter whether the dram-shop keeper is a devil or an 
angel, the traffic in intoxicating liquors has the same evil result." 

"It is nonsense to say that the sale of intoxicating liquors cannot be 
prohibited in this country. Whenever any national vice becomes 
stronger than the Government, the Government had better order its 
grave-clothes and invite mourners." 

" It is the duty of Government to make it easy to do right and difficult 
to do wrong. The work of individual reformation must be by personal 
appeals, moral suasion, the removal of the temptation by the State. The 
theory, in a nutshell, is, stoop down into the gutter and by personal ex- 
ertion pull the fallen out of the hole, and when you have got him out, 
plug up the hole by law so another shall not fall in. " 

" Prohibition laws are not ' sumptuary ' laws. They do not prescribe 
what a man shall eat or drink, but what a man shall sell. The only 
' sumptuary ' laws in this country are the Republican and Democratic 
laws, which punish a man for drinking too much whiskey." 

" The Government has no right to license a wrong." 

"By the prohibition of the liquor traffic, the Government does not 
destroy private property or take it for public use. It simply prevents 
private parties from using their property to the injury of the public." 

" Prohibition in the National and State Constitutions, made effective 
by a political party pledged to the principle of prohibition, not as a 
matter of policy, is the only sure remedy for this most terrible social 
and political evil— the liquor traffic." 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

ADDRESSES. 

AN EXAMINATION OF THE ISSUES. 

an address delivered at lewis' opera house, des moines, ia., april 

22d, 1882. 

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I have come to your State, by re- 
quest of the Grand Lodge of Good Templars, to discuss the neces- 
sity, feasibility, and practicability of the outlawry or inhibition of the 
alcoholic liquor traffic. This traffic, having been indicted by the legis- 
lative grand jury, is now in the court, to be tried by the grandest jury 
of a republic— the people.* Your legislators have indicted the alcoholic 
liquor traffic for social crime ; the case is in your hands to investigate, 
consider, and determine. The law-making power being the one to pass 
on the question, the issue involved is not one of law, but of fact. I 
enter this investigation with misgivings in regard to my own abilities 
to materially assist you. I come as an assistant, not as a teacher, and 
hope if I do anything, I may assist you to reach a just, righteous ver- 
dict. In view of the great interests involved, I would not, as an Ameri- 
can citizen, dare to mislead you, but deem it my duty to counsel the 
fullest, fairest, and most complete investigation of all the facts in this 
case. 



* The Legislature the previous winter had submitted a prohibitory 
amendment to the State Constitution. The amendment was to be voted 
on at a special election the following June. 



526 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

" The advocates who are defending the criminal have, and probably 
will continue to exhaust every quibble before they will go to trial on the 
real issue. A celebrated lawyer once said to a graduating class, ' If you 
have a client who is guilty, and who has no defence, never let him be 
tried. ' ' How will you prevent it ? ' asked one of the students. ' If 
they force you into court, try the opposing attorney, try the witnesses, 
try the judge, and if nothing else will win, try the jury, but never try 
your client. ' This advice has been and will be adopted by the defence, 
and it may be best for us at the commencement of this investigation to 
determine by whom and how the case is to be tried, and what issues 
are and what are not involved in the case. 

" This question is to be tried by you voters not as Germans, Irish- 
men, Englishmen, Scotchmen, New Yorkers, or Illinoisans, but as citizen 
voters of Iowa, bound by your honor as voters to do what in your honest 
judgment is best for the State. It is to be deprecated that the advocates 
defending the liquor traffic have thought it necessary to appeal to class, 
clan, and national prejudices, thereby disintegrating society for selfish 
ends. Although sure demagoguery will not influence sensible men, it 
shows how utterly reckless and unscrupulous are the advocates on the 
other side. 

" See what interests they jeopardize to secure an acquittal. A repub- 
lic must be homogeneous if it hopes to live and prosper. An individual 
cannot take into his stomach pine-knots, sticks, stones, tacks, and nails, 
allow them to remain there unassimilated and undigested, and live ; so 
Iowa cannot take into her political organism New Yorkers, Illinoisans, 
Germans, Irishmen, and persons from other nations and States, allow 
them to remain in the political organism banded together as clans and 
nationalities, unassimilated and undigested, and politically or socially 
prosper. Anything that prevents the assimilation or digestion of food 
in the physical organism is an enemy of the body. Any man or class of 
men who try to induce Germans to band together in this country as 
Germans, or Irishmen as Irishmen, is a traitor to the Government and 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH, 527 

its liberties. All such work and talk is un-Republican, Tin-Democratic, 
and un- American, as well as an insult to the nationality thus sought to 
be used as tools. 

" The term ' German vote,' which, during the last few years, has be- 
come a power in certain political circles, originated in this vile dema- 
goguery. All voters in this country are Americans, native and foreign 
born. No man has a right to vote in Iowa as a New Yorker or a German. 
If he votes, it is as a citizen of Iowa. Any man who does not love this 
country more than any other had better emigrate. American know- 
nothingism was a curse to this nation, because it acted as a disintegrat- 
ing force on society. German know-nothingism, as now developed by 
tricksters and liquor-sellers, is of the same class of political heresies. If 
it continue it will undoubtedly develop American know-nothingism as 
its antidote, when the Germans who have been led into this movement 
will be the ones to suffer, as five American votes will count more than 
one German vote. But it is to be hoped that this accursed political 
trickery may die before such a remedy will be necessary. No greater 
insult could be offered to the German-American voters of Iowa than to 
insinuate that they are controlled by their stomachs instead of their 
brains, and that with a swill-pail full of beer they can be led up to the 
polls and voted either way. The grass on Southern battle-fields, grow- 
ing green over the graves of noble Americans born in Germany, who 
died for this country, hurls the lie in the teeth of the men who claim 
that Germans are controlled by appetite and by liquor demagogues, not 
by principle. 

" These men who appeal to German ideas, theories, and practices, do 
so to subserve selfish interests, and I submit that such practices are 
enough to cast doubt on the merit of their defence. Anything that ex- 
cites race-feeling instead of intelligence, appetite instead of reason, 
passion instead of conscience, self-interest instead of duty, should be 
shut out of a case involving grave questions of the functions and duties 
of Government. 



528 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

' ' The voters should investigate the arguments and facts brought for- 
ward by both sides, and on these, and these alone, as explained by their 
own experience and observation, render their verdict. 

" Among the issues not involved in this case at present is that of 
political partisanship. I stand before you to-night a Democrat, with 
my reason and intelligence indorsing the principles of American democ- 
racy. Not as it is represented in some of the State platforms written by 
political tricksters to catch traitors — I have no sympathy with this gerry- 
mandering of political platforms to catch soreheads from other parties, 
believing, as I do, that a man who leaves his own party for spite and 
votes with another party for revenge is an unsafe and unreliable man, 
and not worth purchasing at such a price — but believing in the prin- 
ciples as laid down when the party passed seven prohibitory laws in as 
many different States. 

"My friend Senator Kimball is a tried, true Eepublican. On the 
conclusions to be deduced from certain political data we differ broadly, 
but on this issue we agree. Love of home, country, civilization, and 
liberty are as equally dear to the Democratic as to the Republican father, 
and if these mutual interests are endangered by the liquor traffic, par- 
tisanship is forgotten in the struggle with the common enemy. • For 
home and native land ' is the war-cry that makes us brothers. 

" Neither is the issue of the use nor abstinence from the use of alco- 
holic liquors involved in this campaign. The prohibitory constitutional 
amendment no more prohibits the use of intoxicating liquors than Sec- 
tion 4035 of the statutes of Iowa prohibits the use of adulterated foods. 
That section reads : ' If any person knowingly sell any kind of diseased or 
corrupted or unwholesome provisions, whether for meat or drink, without mak- 
ing the same fully known to the buyer, he shall be punished by imprisonment in 
the county jail not more than thirty days, or by a fine not exceeding one hundred 
dollars.' 

" The section does not prohibit the use. If you want to eat diseased 
meat you injure yourself and, indirectly, society ; but if you sell the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 529 

meat, the sale is a social act, you injure another, and society interferes 
to protect its units from imposition and injury. This section deals with 
the traffic, not with the use. Trade being a social institution, society 
has a right to destroy it if its effects are deleterious. Use is an individ- 
ual matter over which society has no control as long as the individual 
does not injure it by the practice. 

" Section 4041 of Iowa statutes reads : ' If any person throw, or cause to 
be thrown, any dead animal into any river, well, spring, cistern, reservoir, 
stream, or pond, he sjiall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not 
less than ten nor more than thirty days, or by fine not less than five nor more 
than one hundred dollars.* 

" This deals with the public act of poisoning the water, not with the 
individual use of the poisoned water. It does not say you shall not 
drink, but it says you shall not poison the water. The one act directly 
affects society ; the other affects the individual and indirectly disturbs 
society, and the former is prohibited. 

' ' Society will never undertake to say that an individual shall not read 
obscene literature, but it does say individuals shall not print and circu- 
late such literature, to corrupt the elements of which society is com- 
posed, thereby endangering its life, prosperity, usefulness, and peace. 
Self-preservation is the first law of life, with States as well as individ- 
uals. Trade, traffic, business depends largely upon society — the State — 
for its existence. Anything that affects deleteriously the health, moral- 
ity, order, or safety of the public by its presence or conduct, the State 
must destroy as far as in its power, to preserve its own life. The State 
must guard against those social diseases that tend to break down its 
system, or it will die. The thing which every trade and traffic must 
show is that it strengthens and builds up the health of society. If it 
fails to show this ; if it generates disease in the political system ; if it 
acts as an ulcer on the body politic, society — the State — must, to main- 
tain its own existence, destroy as best it can ; and no rights are violated 
thereby, the traffic having forfeited all right to demand legal protection 



530 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH, 

by its indirect attacks on the life, prosperity, and order of the 
State. 

" The friends of the amendment, recognizing the fact that society is 
made up of individuals, and that the health and character of the unit of 
society— the individual— affects to a very large degree the health, pros- 
perity, and usefulness of the political system, believe it to be for the 
best interest and, in short, the duty of society, to make everything as 
favorable as possible for the development of those traits and character* 
istics of the race which tend to build up and- strengthen its power for 
good, and to destroy as far as possible all institutions, customs, and 
practices which tend to develop those viler characteristics of the race 
which endanger its life and weaken its power to bless the people. In 
short, they believe with the great English statesman that it is the duty 
of Government to make it as easy as possible for the individual to do 
right and as difficult as possible for him to do wrong. 

" The anti-amendment advocates claim, on the contrary, that it is the 
duty of society to take into its system those institutions which generate 
corruption and disease of the elements of its own life, in order to test 
what elements can stand the strain and be stronger by it. In other 
words, that an individual had better take corruption or poison in order 
to generate a fever to purify his system. Would not the learned materia- 
medicist say, * It is better never to poison the system and subject its 
elements to such a test '? 

" The issue in this campaign is not a question of total abstinence. 
In Nebraska there are thousands of total abstainers who are Prohibi- 
tionists. There are also hundreds of Prohibitionists who are drink- 
ers. 

" The ex-chief justice of my own State, one of the ablest criminal law- 
yers on this continent — learned, logical, and eloquent— whose hatred for 
the dram-shop is so intense he can hardly find language to express it, is 
a man who used to drink wine, and I think he does yet. "When you talk 
to him in regard to total abstinence, he says : ' That is an individual 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 531 

matter. ' When you talk to him in regard to the American dram-shop, 
he says : * It is a social nuisance that must be suppressed.' 

" The man who drinks liquor may love his home ; the man who uses 
liquor may love his wife ; the man who uses liquor may love his child ; 
and the man who abstains may do the same thing. In this campaign, 
and on this issue of home and family, they are one ; and if the liquor 
traffic is proved to be the enemy of home and family, there is no reason 
why the drinker should not stand with the abstainer in favor of this 
amendment. 

" This question of the prohibition of the alcoholic liquor traffic is in 
no sense a question of individual abstinence any more than the prohibi- 
tion of the sale of rotten beef is a question of the prohibition of eating 
it, or the prohibition of the sale of bad milk a question of drinking it. 
The one implies the protection extended by a State to society as a whole ; 
the other implies the individual action based on a man's judgment. 

" It may be best for us to look for a moment at this proposition, be- 
cause the opposition will almost surely endeavor to drag these two dis- 
tinct lines of work together, and endeavor to whip out of the prohibition 
ranks all men who drink alcoholic liquors. On the principles under- 
lying the temperance reform in this country all men are agreed. 

" There has hardly been a session of the Brewers' Congress or the 
Distillers' Union in the last twenty years that has not resolved against 
the evils of intemperance. On the primary proposition that these exist 
all classes agree. The only question is the question of remedy. 

" The theory of the Prohibitionist is that it is the duty of the State to 
make it as easy as possible to do right, and just as difficult to do wrong ; 
that it is the duty of the State to make the road up to manhood and 
honor as smooth as possible ; to plant along the side of the road the 
flowers of hope, of promise, and of public approbation. Into the road 
down to licentiousness, and vice, and crime, and infamy, and death, 
roll the rocks of law, hedge it with the brambles of public opinion, the 
briers of public condemnation, and then place the citizen at the begin- 



532 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH, 

ning of the two ways, and say to him : 'Take your choice.' The State 
can never enter there and say, You must go this way and shall not go the 
other. It will simply make the road to manhood pleasant and the road 
to disgrace disagreeable, and allow the young man standing at the 
entrance of the two paths to choose along which he will journey. He 
can go to heaven if he will, or he can go down to ruin if he will. In 
the way of his free moral agency the State can never come, until by his 
individual action he injures others. At this starting-point the moral 
suasion organizations come to persuade, to convince that it is best for 
him to go the better way. The State simply steps in to prevent tempta- 
tion, leaving the free will of the individual untrammelled, while the 
work of the moral suasion society is to show the individual what is right 
and what is wrong. 

" Take another view : Intemperance, as it is known to the people of 
this State, is known to the scientific world as alcoholism or dipsomania — 
better known to the American physician, the English physician, the 
French physician than any other form of chronic poisoning. The Pro- 
hibitionist says : ' The same rules of common-sense should be applied 
in the treatment of this disease that are applied in the treatment of 
other diseases.' The only cure for the man who has the small-pox — you 
know something of this disease from the terrible scare which swept over 
the country last winter — is the treatment of kindness, nursing, and doc- 
toring. It does no good to pound a man on the head with a club who 
has the small-pox. It would do him no good to put him in the ' cooler ' 
or to set him at work breaking stone. The only way to treat a sick man 
is to treat him with care and scientific treatment. The people use com- 
mon-sense rules for treatment of small-pox — treatment for the sick, vac- 
cination for the well, quarantine for the disease. In the temperance 
movement the temperance societies adopt the same methods. The 
pledge is vaccination. If it does not take the first time they vaccinate 
over again, and keep on vaccinating until it works. Last spring, when 
it was reported that small-pox was spreading from every part of the 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 533 

country, there was heard a universal demand for the interference of 
Government, not with the idea that its interposition could cure those 
men who were sick, but with the idea that the hand of Government 
through that agency known as the police power of the State could keep 
the disease within certain limits and protect those who were well. 

' ' The State of Iowa has adopted this theory. 

' ' Section 4039 of your statutes reads : 

" ' If any person inoculate himself or any other person, or suffer himself to 
be inoculated with small-pox within this Slate with intent to cause the spread of 
the disease, or come within this State loith the intent to cause the prevalence or 
spread, etc., he shall be imprisoned and fined.' 

" The State does not say people shall not catch the small-pox, but the 
State will make it as difficult to catch it as possible. The love, care, 
and kindness shown to the patients sick with contagious disease is moral 
suasion ; the red flag out in front of the house, the strong hand of quar- 
antine, is prohibition. This prohibition is of the State. If this system 
is sensible with other diseases, the same system should be applied to 
this widespread disease of intemperance. 

' ' Yellow-fever swept up the Mississippi and located at Memphis. The 
second year, within twenty-four hours after the time it appeared in 
Memphis, every place which had communication with that city had 
quarantined against it ; they stopped the passage of merchandise, and 
even stopped the passage of United States mails from the city until dis- 
infected. Why did they do this ? They could not legislate the poor fel- 
lows who had the yellow-fever back to health, but they could legislate 
them into a quarantine to prevent other people from catching it. 

" Twenty-one thousand three hundred and eighty -four people in this 
country died from yellow-fever in the last ten years. Take that num- 
ber ; think of it — 21,384 ! Does any man say it was wrong to quarantine 
Memphis, though it destroyed merchandise, though it destroyed busi- 
ness, though it wrecked the whole city ? No ; it was right ! The dis- 
ease of alcoholism, during the same time, has killed more than six hun- 



534 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

dred and fifty thousand American citizens. This is not the statement of 
a temperance lecturer— it is the statement of Willard Parker, the first 
surgeon of this country. It is the statement of N. S. Davis, the cele- 
brated physician of Chicago, and it is the statement of every doctor in 
this country who is tall enough in his profession to be seen over three 
counties. And yet the drunkard makers object to quarantine. Alco- 
holism has killed six hundred and fifty thousand, and there are men in 
this audience, I presume, with these facts before them, who have been 
so mistaken that they have voted to license a man to take the seeds of 
this terrible disease in his hands and sow them among the boys and girls 
of this country. Yellow-fever has ruined less men, less women, and 
less children in Memphis than alcoholism has in the State of Iowa. The 
one is prohibited, the other licensed. 

' ' While the churches and the moral suasion organizations go down to 
the gutter after the poor drunkard, while they endeavor to cure his sick 
body by scientific treatment and his sick soul by the grace of God, it is 
the duty of the State to do away with the places, to destroy the trade 
which incessantly turns out these sick men and keeps the supply con- 
stant, and forces this work through the years and on through the ages. 

" The question in regard to State action is not the question of what 
the treatment of the individual shall be. It is simply the question of 
what is the duty of the State, what is the power of the State to restrain 
or to prevent the spread of this fearfully contagious disease. 

" The question before the people of Iowa during the next sixty days 
is not : ' Are you a Democrat ? Are you a Kepublican ? Are you a Pres- 
byterian? Are you a drinker or an abstainer ? What is your individual 
convictions in regard to the use of liquors ? ' but, ' What is the effect of 
the American dram-shop on the best interests of the State ? ' This is the sole 
issue in this campaign. Everything else is subterfuge— is thrown in to 
deceive ; and every person who endeavors to prevent the people from 
considering this primary question is working in the interests of the 
liquor men. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 535 

" I was through the canvass in Kansas. The same issue was presented 
there, and from the beginning to the end of the fight I never heard the 
liquor men meet the issue squarely and fairly on its merits. 

" The whole question to be tried is simply, What is the relation of the 
liquor traffic to society in this State ? That much and no more. I am 
well aware that when you have reached this point, when you have ar- 
raigned the liquor interest on its record, and insist it shall come into 
court and plead to the indictment, that it will at once move to quash 
the indictment on certain specious sophistries, One will be this : that 
this business is an old institution ; that the State is composed of people 
who have come from different countries and different nationalities ; that 
the German, having come from his Fatherland, has the right to bring 
here its customs ; that the Irishman, coming from the Evergreen Isle, 
has the right to bring the customs of that- country here. 

" Let us look at this position for a moment — the position that is every- 
where held and urged by the liquor men of this country. Let us ex- 
amine whether this idea is in harmony with the primary principles of 
Government. 

" Political institutions are the outgrowth of social customs, not social 
customs the outgrowth of political institutions. Society is "built from 
the bottom, not from the top. The home comes first ; then families 
assemble, and you have a village ; villages, and you have a township ; 
townships, and you have a county ; counties, and you have a State ; and, 
in this country, States and you have a nation. All political customs 
grow out of social life. The political customs of this country are the 
legitimate children of the social customs and life of the founders of the 
Government, of the men who made our liberties and our institutions 
possible. 

" If I ever get indignant in my life, it is when I hear men born in 
other countries, together with dirty, dough-faced American demagogues, 
sneering at the Pilgrims, and ridiculing Puritanical morals and ideas. 
No man has greater respect for the good traits of our foreign-born citi- 



536 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

zens than myself, but I believe that a native born American is as good 
as a foreign-born American, as long as his life and his conduct are as 
good ; and I most earnestly protest, in free America, against the beer 
smut-mill being turned on the men who planted our liberties, and suf- 
fered and died to perpetuate them. A few American sneaks, in order to 
catch the beer vote, enter the cemetery where America's noblest dead 
are buried, desecrate the graves, and attempt to defile the memory of 
those who built the Government and established the liberties under 
which these ghouls live. Who were these Pilgrims who are now made 
a byword and jest by the beer-guzzlers of this country? What did 
they come to America for ? What kind of a country did they find ? 
Britain's poetess answers : 

" ' The breaking waves dashed high 

On a stern and rock-bound coast, 
And the woods against a stormy sky 

Their giant branches tossed ; 
And the heavy night hung dark 

The hills and waters o'er, 
When a band of exiles moored their bark 

On the wild New England shore. 
Not as the conqueror comes, 

They, the true-hearted, came ; 
Not with the roll of the stirring drums, , 

And the trumpet that sings of fame ; 
Not as the flying come, 

In silence and in fear ; 
They shook the depths of the desert gloom 

With their hymns of lofty cheer. 
Amidst the storm they sang, 

And the stars heard, and the sea ; 
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 

To the anthems of the free. 
The ocean eagle soared 

From his nest by the white wave's foam, 
And the rocking pines of the forest roared— 

This was their welcome home. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 537 

There were men with hoary hair 

Amidst that Pilgrim band ; 
Why had they come to wither there, 

Away from their childhood's land ? 
There was woman's fearless eye, 

Lit by her deep love's truth ; 
There was manhood's brow serenely high, 

And the fiery heart of youth. 
What sought they thus afar ? 

Bright jewels of the mine ? 
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war ?— 

They sought a faith's pure shrine I 
Ay, call it holy ground, 

The soil where first they trod ; 

They have left unstained what there they found- 
Freedom to worship God.' 

"Such was their coming, and such the motives which led them to 
leave the Old "World and its comforts for the unknown New. By struggle 
and toil, through disease and suffering, they developed the land and 
planted the ideas of liberty in their descendants. Their theories of lib- 
erty and morals were developed by their children. 

"Who died at Lexington? Whose blood wet the ground at Bunker 
Hill ? Whose breast was in front of British bullets at Brandywine and 
Germantown ? Who starved at Valley Forge ? 

" Through blood the land was made free. What was then done ? Did 
Americans close the doors of the Kepublic and say : ' We are free ; let 
the world take care of itself ' ? No ! They welcomed the down-trodden 
of all nations. Immigrants have not been asked to come as alien pau- 
pers. They have been received as brothers, and made members of the 
family. After all this, for these refugees from the despotisms of Europe 
to attempt to destroy American customs by traducing American dead is 
disgraceful. If they came here to be Americans, they are welcome ; but 
if they prefer European ideas and customs, and the governments which 
those ideas and customs have produced, a ticket from New York to 



538 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

Europe will cost little more than a ticket from Europe to New York, and 
they are free to go. Americans are satisfied with American institutions 
and American liberties. 

" This Government is the child of that morality, that theory of relig- 
ious liberty, that theory of governmental life which was taught by the 
men who settled and developed the Colonies ; while, on the contrary, 
the German despotism of to-day is the legitimate child of the German 
social life and German social customs. Whenever the people in this 
country destroy American social customs and American social life ; 
whenever the people drift away from the rocks on which their forefathers 
founded this Government into the seas where despotisms have floated ; 
whenever American customs cease and the customs of despotic Europe 
take their place, this Government had better order its grave-clothes and 
invite in the mourners. America, as a republic, can only live while the 
customs that made it a republic live. This theory of government can 
only continue while the social life that developed it continues. When a 
different form of social life, a different form of social thought, a differ- 
ent form of social teaching, a different form of moral training come in, 
I have no hope for the Government. 

" Suppose I could to-night take a hundred thousand native-born 
Americans, and, with a motion of the hand, plant them over in the Ger- 
man Empire, would not Von Bismarck have a lively time governing 
them? Why? Because their training in their mothers' arms, their 
training in the cradle, their training in the primary school, in the graded 
school, in the academy, in the university, have all developed a different 
line of thought, a different theory of government, a different theory of 
responsibility, from that developed by the German social life, the Ger- 
man social customs, and the German schools. The idea that because 
customs have lived in another country, and have been developed in 
another form of government, that they must of right be allowed to con- 
tinue here, is utterly fallacious. 

"Suppose before the missionaries went to the Fiji Islands, a man 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 539 

from that island had drifted over and located in the city of Des Moines. 
(You know that the Fiji Islanders were cannibals.) Suppose this Fiji 
Islander had come. Now, he is a different man from the American. 
His teeth are different, his head is especially different. He has differ- 
ent passions, different appetites, different ideas. For a time he re- 
strains his inclinations, but at last, the old appetite in him being 
aroused, he makes a raid on your home, catches your fat baby boy, kills 
him, dresses him, cooks him, and puts him on the table for a meal. 
You get your shotgun and go up to interview him. Don't kill him on 
sight. When you see what he is about, you say : ' What have you 
done ? ' 

" ' Why,' he says, ' nothing, only killed a boy.' 

" ' But you have committed murder.' 

" He says, ' I do not understand.' 

" 'Why, you have killed this child. You had no right to kill him. 
You have no right to do what you are doing.' 

" ' I thought this was a free country ! ' he exclaims. 

" ' It is a free country, but it is not a free country to commit murder 
in.' 

" ' But,' he says, ' I used to eat babies' over in the Fiji Islands. Have 
not I got the right to eat them here ? ' 

" What would be the answer? ' Sir, the Government of the United 
States is not the Government of the Fiji Islands. Your social customs 
have developed your form of government, our social customs have de- 
veloped our form of government. When you leave that Government 
you must leave every custom that is inimical to this Government or 
destructive to its institutions, for we have no desire to have introduced 
here the customs that propagated the governments of your native island.' 

" Suppose the ex-Khedive of Egypt, when he was deposed, instead of 
moving to Italy, had come over here with his wives and children and 
gone to housekeeping in Des Moines. An officer takes him by the 
shoulder, and says : ' Hold on, sir ! What are you doing ? *■ 



540 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

" ' I am keeping house.' 

" ' You are my prisoner.' 

" 'What for?' 

" ' Bigamy.' 

" ' What is bigamy ? ' 

*' ' Having more than one wife.' 

" M thought this was a free country ! ' 

" 'It is.' 

" ' I used to have these wives in Egypt. Have not I the right to have 
them here ? ' 

" What would you say to him ? 'Sir, this Republic is a different Gov- 
ernment from the despotism of Egypt. This Government is a product 
of our social institutions. Consequently, when you come to this coun- 
try you must leave every custom that would be injurious to the welfare 
of this country and the perpetuity of this Government.' The idea that 
American freedom means universal license is the dangerous idea in this 
country. 

" In my State a young woman recently from Europe was brought into 
a court charged with the murder of her infant child. When the indict- 
ment was read, and she was asked, through an interpreter, to plead, her 
answer was : ' I thought this was a free country. ' 

" The idea that this country has no form, no customs, no laws, no in- 
stitutions, which immigrants are bound to respect ; that men have the 
right to come here and follow any customs, any ideas, any theories, and 
any practices, is an idea utterly antagonistic to American institutions, 
and if carried out will ultimately build on the chaos of our liberties the 
worst despotism that the world ever saw. 

" At the birth of this Government, the institutions of the Colonies 
were the institutions of a monarchy in a modified form. The men who 
settled at Plymouth Rock were men who had given up, in a measure, 
their old ideas and theories, and a new social system had been slowly 
developing. This change ultimately developed a social life that would 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 541 

not endure even the limited monarchy of Great Britain. "When the 
United States came into existence as a nation, they were a long way 
from having republican institutions. The American leaders were not 
destructionists, they were reformers. 

" The difference between the French and American Revolutions was 
this —the Americans simpty wished to tear down the building of a mon- 
archy, to take out of it all the material they could use in another form 
of government, while the French endeavored to destroy and build wholly 
new. 

" The work of American statesmen for the first hundred years of this 
Republic has been the work of changing, adjusting, and trying. Look ! 
see what changes have been made. Examine the law ; you could hardly 
recognize it as the child of the law in existence when the Colonies be- 
came free. The old theory was that the king received his authority 
from God, that he stood in the relation of God to the people ; with the 
destruction of that idea, the individual became the sovereign, and the 
ruler the representative of the people. The result of this was a change 
in the law in accordance with the change in ideas. The old theory of 
the divine right of kings to rule the people develoiDed the theory of the 
divine right of the husband to rule the wife. The old marriage forms — 
every one of them— contained a clause stipulating that the wife should 
obey the husband. If I had been young at that time, and one of the 
ladies here had also been living, worth fifty thousand dollars in bonds, 
notes, and real estate, and married me, by the act of marriage (unless 
her property had been entailed upon her and her children) every dollar 
would have become mine. I could have spent it or gambled it away, 
and she could not have prevented me by other means than love or the 
broomstick. The old law has been changed, and shaped, and polished, 
until to-day, in my State, if I wanted my wife's money, the only way I 
could get it would be to persuade her to give it to me. She can buy and 
sell property and transact business in her own name ; and next Novem- 
ber many of Nebraska's voters will say that the women of the State have 



542 THE LIFE OF J01IN B. FINCH. 

the same right to a voice in the Government under which they live that 
the men have. This is the legitimate result of a change of customs from 
a monarchy to the broader idea of a democracy, founded upon the moral- 
ity and intelligence of the j)eople. 

' ' The founders of the Kepublic recognized the fact that the founda- 
tion of universal liberty must be universal education. At the birth of 
this Government the schools of America were private schools, but the 
necessity of making the citizen-sovereign intelligent developed our free- 
school system. All the institutions that America inherited have been 
moulded, shaped, and developed. Among these inherited institutions 
was the accursed drinking- place. The dram-shop is not a child of 
American customs, liberty, ideas, schools, or theories. It was inherited 
from the despotic governments of Europe. At the laying of the founda- 
tion of the Government there were men who openly denied that it should 
continue to be in the new structure. 

" Those who favored a compromise were in a majority. They said : 
* It will not be fair to reject the liquor traffic until it has been tried in 
the new form of government. ' They prevailed and it has been tried. 

" Its results have been the same as in Europe— drunkenness, debauch- 
ery, vice, crime, riot, communism. In the rich soil and genial climate 
of our Government it bore fruit early, and in 1676 the Government of 
Virginia found it necessary to protect the people from the multitude of 
evils resultant from the traffic and the conditions favorable to its devel- 
opment. As increasing population, seconded by wise statesmanship, 
has enlarged the nation's borders, it has grown with our growth and in- 
creased with our strength ; it has been crippled only where persistent 
prohibitory efforts have made the conditions for its development unfa- 
vorable. The evil has long been admitted by all and a persistent effort 
to remedy it has been made by a few. Compromise has followed com- 
promise, the unrestrained sale, license, high license, civil damage, local 
option ; and I wish to assert in the light of history that all these com- 
promises have been failures to just the extent that principle has been 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. ,543 

sacrificed ; and successes just to the. extent that right has been recog- 
nized and prohibitory features incorporated into their text. Thus this 
institution has been tested and found unworthy of a place in a free re- 
public. It is an enemy of American liberties, and must be destroyed. 

Then : 

" ' There shall he sung another golden age : 

The rise of empire and of arts, 
The good and great inspiring epic rage, 

The wisest heads and noblest hearts — 
Not such as Europe breeds in her decay, 

Such as she bred when fresh and young, 
When heavenly flame did animate her clay, 

By future poets shall be sung. 
Westward the course of Empire takes its way, 

The first four acts already past, 
The fifth shall close the drama with the day : 

Time's noblest offspring is the last.' " 

EXAMINATION OF THE ISSUES AND DEFENCE. 

AN ADDRESS DELIVERED AT MOORE'S OPERA HOUSE, DES MOINES, IA., 

APRIL 23, 1882. 

" Ladies and Gentlemen of Des Moines : I came to your State at the 
request of the old prohibition corps of the temperance army, the Good 
Templars, who have fought on this line since 1851, to discuss with you 
the question of what is the best thing for the people to do with the alco- 
holic liquor traffic of your State. Your Legislature has submitted this 
question to you. I would have preferred that the question could have 
been submitted to every one who suffers from the accursed influence 
and effects of the drink traffic, or whose heart is bleeding from its dire- 
ful effects ; but the provisions of our American Constitution are such 
that men above the age of twenty-one years must settle this question, 
while the great class who suffer most from the evil influences of the 
liquor traffic— the women of the country — are debarred from expressing 



544 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

their opinion in making the final verdict. I would that this were not 
so ; but as it is submitted to the voters of this commonwealth, you, as 
voters, must settle the question. The day has passed when a man can 
afford to laugh, to sneer, or to jeer at this question. As citizens of the 
State, bound by the highest obligations of a Christian civilization — home 
and love of country — you are to take the question without passion, with- 
out prejudice, without bitterness, and fully consider it in all its phases. 
This question is one that must be settled calmly and dispassionately. 
The drunkard factory of this State must be weighed in the balance of 
political economy, of social life. It must be weighed, not by prejudiced 
men, not by bitter men, not by unfair men, but by jurors willing to con- 
sider each of the counts in the indictment against it, and then to render 
their verdict according to the facts. 

" To-night let us examine the relations of the liquor traffic in this 
country to society and its interests ; then, as you go from this hall, 
weigh the evidence, and if your judgment tells you it is conclusive 
against the traffic, if your judgment tells you my statements are correct, 
act upon them. If your judgment tells you my reasoning is incorrect, 
reject it. I would not think much of you if you would accept some- 
thing as true because I said it was true. I would not think much of 
you if you would reject what I said simply because a temperance man 
said it. You are moral, responsible, intelligent, cultured men, and you 
must take the statements and weigh them in the scales of your own 
judgment, your own experience, your own intelligence, and then make 
up your minds whether they are true or false. The power of the liquor 
traffic to do great good or great evil to the commonwealth cannot be 
doubted. The immense number of these retail shops, the large number 
of men engaged in the business of selling liquor, the great capital in- 
vested in the manufacture and in the buildings where liquor is sold, 
make the business capable of doing great good or great evil to any city, 
county, State, or nation where it is permitted to exist. 

"That this capacity is always exercised in the direction of evil is 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 545 

scarcely deniable. No man dares dispute the pernicious influence of 
the grog-shops of this country. 

' ' A few weeks ago the Chicago Inter- Ocean described a certain section 
in the city of Chicago, which is called the ' Black Hole. ' Many of you 
saw the description. It declared that in that section of the city the 
vicious elements upholding vice and crime, licentiousness, debauchery, 
and lewdness were the governing factors and the controlling interests, 
A few days later the same newspaper published a diagram of the streets 
of the city where the ' Black Hole ' was located. Suppose that to-night 
I should draw on this curtain the same diagram. Suppose, further, that 
you had not seen the Inter- Ocean article. After I have drawn this dia- 
gram I take the Inter-Ocean in my hands, and, standing before you, I 
read the description of the locality, studiously omitting the names of 
the places, the kind of business carried on there, and only speaking of 
the moral and social condition of the people. After I have read the de- 
scription, my license friend, if you are in the house, I want you to tell 
me what kind of institutions are located along those "streets ; what insti- 
tutions will produce such a condition of things. 

" Suppose I told you that on the first corner is a Methodist church, 
then from there down to the next corner it was blocked solidly with dry- 
goods houses. At the end of the street the Presbyterian Church is 
located, and across the other side are retail houses. Then there is a 
Baptist church, and on the other side are manufactories — in other words, 
I tell you that that section of the city is filled with churches, with 
schools, and with business places. My license friend, would not you 
say my statement could not be true ? Is it possible for such a state of 
things to exist where any respectable business exists ? Then let me ask 
you to tell me what kind of business you think is transacted along these 
streets? Why, you would answer in a minute, if you were honest, 
' Grog-shops and their children, gambling hells and houses of ill-fame.' 
The last two — the children of the first — infest the streets. That is the 
kind of institutions the Inter- Ocean says are there. 



546 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

' ' A few years ago— the older men among the ministers here will re- 
member—the metropolitan press of New York turned the public gaze 
upon a section of that city controlled by vice, crime, and immorality, 
and when the public looked at the streets where this horrible state of 
things existed, what did they see ? Did they see churches, schools, and 
business to produce these results ? No ! The centre of Five Points 
was an old brewery, and every street radiating from that brewery was 
crowded with grog-shops and their attendant institutions, where liquor 
was sold and humanity debased. When the Christian element of the 
city wished to elevate the social and moral condition of Five Points, the 
very first thing they did was to buy the old brewery and change it into 
a city mission. 

" When Christianity came, the devil packed up his pet institution, to 
a certain extent, and moved over to Water Street, and then Water Street 
became the worst section of the city. The vicious element followed the 
dram-shop. 

"Last September one of the great newspapers of the city of Chicago 
arraigned Mayor Carter Harrison for not revoking the license of a cer- 
tain liquor-dealer. The paper charged that this man had repeatedly 
violated the law, and insisted that the mayor should have revoked the 
license, and that his failure to act was his fear of injuring his political 
interests. Mayor Harrison, talking to a reporter, said that the accusa- 
tion of the paper regarding the guilt of the liquor-seller and the failure 
to revoke the license was true ; but he said he allowed that dram-shop 
to continue because it was a resort of thieves — it was a trap where the 
policemen could find criminals and catch them, and he allowed it to 
remain simply for this reason. Would he keep a church open as a trap 
for criminals ? I think not. 

' ' I was born in the State of New York, where the farmers plough the 
land on three sides— top and two sides. One time, while a boy, an old 
gentleman in our neighborhood came to me, and said : ' See here ! Do 
you want to go and hunt foxes with me to-morrow ? ' I said, ' Yes.' 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 547 

The next morning he came with the hounds. I had my gun ready, and 
we started out across the hills. We went up one hill, down on the other 
side, across the valley, up the second hill. About half-way up the hill 
we came across a fox-track in the snow. It was what we were looking 
for. The old hunter brought the dogs, put them on the track, and away 
they started, along the range to the north. I shouldered my gun and 
started after them. The old man said : f Where are you going ? ' ' Going- 
after the foxes.' He said, with a laugh : ' You follow me ; ' and he 
started across the hill to the southwest. The dogs had gone north ; he 
went southwest ; and I, without a word, followed him over the top of 
the hill and part of the way down the other side. He said : - You wait t 
behind that stump.' He went and sat down behind a tree. For a whole 
hour I sat there in the snow. The thought commenced to come into 
my mind that the old gentleman had brought me there to freeze. Just 
as this thought was taking definite shape, on the wings of the wind from 
the north was borne the baying of the hounds. They came nearer and 
nearer. The fox was shot in front. After the fox was shot the old 
hunter came up, and I asked : ' How did you know the fox would come 
here ? ' ' Why, ' he answered, ' this is his runaway. I have known over 
three hundred foxes killed on this range, and I never knew one to run 
on this side of the hill in any place but between this stump and that 
tree.' 

" Every hunter will tell you such is the habit of many kinds of game, 
and it is equally true of the criminals Of this country. Suppose a man 
should break into a store here to-night, and leave for Chicago to-morrow 
— your police get a description of the man, and telegraph to the chief of 
police at Chicago to arrest him. Where would the Chicago police first 
search for him ? Would they go to the prayer-meeting ? Would they 
go to the stores ? No ! they would go to the grog-shops, or to the prog- 
eny of grog-shops — houses of ill-fame, gambling hells— because this kind 
of game always seeks this runaway, its old familiar grounds. Take the 
records of the courts of this country, and they sustain this charge so 



548 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

thoroughly that no one will dare challenge it. And, gentlemen, before 
the license men of this State can hope to defeat the amendment, they 
must show that this charge is false. If the liquor traffic of this country 
stimulates crime, if it stimulates and produces vice, if it upholds it and 
sustains it, there is no argument that will justify a man in voting to 
continue the business. 

" Again, the dram-shop of this country is a school of perjury. From 
the very day it is opened it makes liars of men. You may say this is a 
strong charge. Indict a liquor-seller in this town for violation of your 
liquor law. Your detectives tell you that he has persistently violated it. 
Bring him into court and put him on trial. Subpoena from their houses 
in this city twenty- five men, young and old, who have patronized him. 
They come into court. You reach out the Bible ; they will swear, on 
God's Holy Word, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth. Try to prove by them facts which they know to be true. Nine- 
teen out of the twenty-five will swear to a lie to defend the man who 
sold them the liquor. 

" One of these witnesses is on the stand ; 

t < < Were you in that liquor-shop ? ' 

" ' I was.' 

" ' Did you buy something there ? ' 

'"I did.' 

" ' What was it ? ' 

" 'I don't know.' 

" ' What did you call for ? ' 

"'I didn't call.' 

' ' ' Well, what did you get ? ' 

" 'I don't know.' 

" ' You drank something. What was it? ' 

" ' Well, it might have been tea, it might have been coffee, it might 
have been lemonade ; I don't know.' 

" Lie ? Of course he lies. 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 5±9 

' ' Suppose he had gone into the saloon and asked for beer, and the 
bar-keeper had set up lemonade, would he not have known the dif- 
ference ? 

"Suppose he had asked for whiskey, and the bartender had set up 
tea, would he not have known the difference ? 

"And yet that man comes into court, and, after taking his oath on 
God's Truth, deliberately and wilfully perjures his soul, degrades his 
manhood, dishonors his citizenship, to defend the man who will take his 
last dollar, make him a drunkard, and then kick him into the street and 
call him a druken dead-beat ! Have you ever tried to enforce the law 
against liquor- sellers ? If so, you know this to be true. 

" They everywhere try to corrupt judges, to suborn witnesses, to de- 
feat the ends of justice, and prevent an honest, fair, and full enforce- 
ment of the law. 

" The liquor traffic of this country is a parasite on legitimate business 
life. The dealers and their advocates will tell you, before this amend- 
ment fight is over, that the dram-shop (in some way, they will be careful 
not to specify how) conduces to the general prosperity and the business 
interests of this State. If this statement is true, then certainly they 
have a good defence with which to meet the indictment against 
them. 

" Let us for a few moments examine the theory of State building, in 
order to fully understand the causes of city, State, and national pros- 
perity. 

" A. king from Asia Minor was one time visiting a king of Sparta. In 
Asia, in the early days of the world, all cities were walled, as a defence 
against enemies. When this king came to Sparta and discovered the 
absence of walls, he was astonished, and asked the king of Sparta, 
• Where are the walls of your cities ? ' The Spartan ruler answered, ' I 
will show you to-morrow.' The next day he ordered the armies of Sparta 
to pass before his guest in review. As these proud freemen marched 
by, the king, touching his visitor on the shoulder and pointing with 



550 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

pride to his soldiers, said : * These be the walls of Sparta ; every man is 
a brick.' Ladies and gentlemen, the morality, intelligence, and virtue 
of the people is the foundation of city, of county, of State, and of Gov- 
ernment building. 

" The unity of society is the individual. If you wish good society you 
must build up the units of society, cultivate the institutions and customs 
whose influence and effects tend to improve and elevate the individual. 
If Iowa has institutions that only develop health, strength, morality, and 
intelligence, her future prosperity is assured ; but if she sanctions and 
enters into partnership with institutions which debauch public morals, 
destroy public health, impair individual credit, stimulate vice and 
crime, the day will come when, with a political system destroyed by 
social debauchery, Iowa, as a Eepublican State, will be a thing of the 
past. The laws of social and political health are fixed ; to violate them 
is to invite disease and death. 

" ' What constitutes a State ? 

Not high-raised battlement or labored mound, 
Thick wall, or moated gate ; 

Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned ; 
Not bays and broad-armed ports, 

Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride ; 
Not starred and spangled courts, 

Where low browed baseness wafts perfume to pride. 
No ; men, high-minded men, 

With powers as far above dull brutes endued 
In forest, brake, or den, 

As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude- 
Men, who their duties know — 

But know their, rights, and, Knowing, dare maintain, 
Prevent the long-aimed blow, 

And crush the tyrant, while they rend the chain ; 
These constitute a State ; 

And sovereign law, that State's collected will, 
O'er thrones and globes elate 

Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill.'' 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 551 

" The defendants in this case have only to prove that the liquor traffic 
builds up the State by building up the individuals who constitute it. If 
it builds up its patrons socially, financially, intellectually, and morally, 
the case of the people against the traffic must fail. If, on the contrary, 
they fail to show that their business benefits directly their customers, 
then their business mast go. Let us see if it does. 

" Our Greenback friends, during the past four years, have told us a great 
many things that are true. One of the principles of political economy 
which they have been teaching persistently, or rather developing, is that 
there can be but two types of men in our social organism — the first the 
producing class — those who, by their work, add to the material wealth 
of the State, or, at least, produce enough to take care of themselves. 
That class have a right to a place as long as their production does not 
injuriously affect the society in which they live ; consequently, they are 
dismissed from consideration. The other class, the non-producers, are 
the men who must show to the satisfaction of society that they are en- 
titled to a place outside the almshouse. All political economists group 
this second class into two sub-classes —assistant producers and parasitic 
non-producers. 

"Let me illustrate. Call up here a merchant and a doctor ; two of one 
class. Place here a saloon-keeper and a thief ; two of the other class. 
Do not say I am making my point too strong ; this is the teaching of 
every man who ever wrote a work on political economy, and I am simply 
stating what has been affirmed by men who advocate and believe in 
license. I will show you the difference between these classes. I turn 
to the merchant, and say to him : ' You receive money from the pro- 
ducers of this country. You must show what you do for society, and 
what you do for the producer for the money you receive. What do you 
give in return for the producer's money ? ' He answers : ' I am simply 
the agent of producers. I act as their hired man, to a certain extent. 
The producers manufacture or grow certain commodities ; in another 
country other producers provide other commodities. I take the com- 



552 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

raodities which these men produce, ship to other producers, and bring 
their products back for others.' Although our farmers tried to abolish 
the merchant a few years ago, they learned that the conduct of commerce 
is a science, and that the men who were novices in the matter were illy 
fitted to carry it on. When we have examined the merchant, we find he 
returns equal value for the money he gets. 

" "We turn to the doctor, and say : ' Doctor, you receive money from 
the producers while you produce nothing yourself. Tell us what return 
you make for the money received.' He answers : ' The producers of 
this country do not take care of themselves. In the first place, many of 
them do not understand the laws of hygiene. The} 7 become sick, and I 
am simply the one who repairs the machinery.' One time, on the 
Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad, I was talking with an hon- 
ored friend, Mr. Quick, and I asked him : ' What is your business ? ' 
He said : ' I am pump-doctor.' He was the hydraulic engineer. He 
was the man who had charge of the sick pumps of this road. When a 
pump would riot work, he doctored it. Now, the physician stands in 
the same relation to society in which that man stands to the railroad ; 
he is the one who repairs the physical machinery of the producers. 
When we have examined him closely in regard to the money he has re- 
ceived and the work he has done ; when we think how we have seen 
him standing by the sick-bed of loved ones, as hope was dying out, and 
the only ray of light was the thought that God gave and God was taking 
away, and heard him saying, to comfort the breaking heart : ■ While 
there is life there is hope ; ' when the loved one came back to health 
and strength, we took the money from our pocket and willingly paid the 
bill for services rendered. The physician assists the producer for the 
money he receives. 

" Next, examine the others. ' Mr. Liquor-dealer, you get the money, 
what do you give back for it ? ' ' Whiskey and beer.' ' Well, sir, let 
me put a hypothetical question to you. Suppose a man comes into your 
saloon to-morrow, and drinks. During the next week, the next month, 



TEE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 553 

the next year, he patronizes you. For ten years he is your best cus- 
tomer, giving you the larger part of his earnings and the greater part of 
his time. At the end of the time what will you have done for the man 
in return for the money he has given you ? ' If the liquor-seller is honest 
he will have to answer : ' He would have been better off if he had never 
come into my place. I have not only taken his money, but I have cursed 
him in the taking.' 

" Try it again. ' Mr. Liquor- dealer, suppose a man with a family 
comes into your place and becomes your patron. At the end of five or 
six years he dies in front of your bar under the influence of liquor. 
What will you have done for his wife and babies in return for the money 
you have received from him ? ' Again the answer must be : 'It would 
have been better for that wife and child if he had never traded with me.' 
Do you see the difference ? The merchant says : ' I benefit him, and 
you see the benefit. ' The drink-vender has to admit that he curses him, 
and everybody sees the effect of the curse. 

' ' If I put the same question to the thief. ' I give peace of mind. ' 
' What do you mean ? ' ' If a man has money he worries for fear it will 
be stolen ; after I steal it he soon stops worrying — I do not injure his 
brain, nerves, or muscle.' 

" Suppose four farmers come into Des Moines, each with fifty dollars 
in his pocket. One goes to a dry-goods store, one to a hardware store, 
one to a boot and shoe store, and the other to a dram-shop, and each 
spends his money in the place he visits. 

" After two weeks I come to you and say : ' Let us go and see those 
producers ; see what they received for the money they gave those non- 
producers. ' We drive to the home of the man who spent his money at 
the dry-goods store. ' What did you get ? ' 'Do you see that dress 
which Nellie is wearing and that coat that Tom has on ? Well, I gave 
the merchant fifty dollars, aDd he gave me in exchange these things. 
He is better off ; we are better off.' Exchange of values ; both are 
benefited. 



554 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

' ( We go to the man who traded at the hardware store, and we say : 
' What did you receive ? ' ' Do yon see the stove, and the axe, and those 
kettles ? ' ' Yes. ' l Well, I gave him fifty dollars ; he gave me these. 
We are better off ; he is better off.' 

' ' We go to the man who spent his money at the boot and shoe store. 
' What did you receive for the money you paid ? ' ' You see these boots 
which I am wearing, and the shoes Nellie has on, and the boots that 
Will, Dick, and Harry and the rest are wearing? 1 gave that mer- 
chant fifty dollars for them. We needed the boots and shoes, he 
needed the money, and we traded.' An exchange of values ; both are 
benefited. 

"• Now we go to the man who spent the fifty dollars in the dram-shop, 
and say to him : ' Sir, you paid that non-producer fifty dollars. What 
did you get back?' 'Come here and I will show you.' Will he say 
that ? No ; he will hang his head, and say : ' I got this flaming nose, 
these bleared eyes, and have been sick ever since.' 

" ■ My farmer friend, would you not have been better off if you had 
put the fifty dollars in the lamp and burned it, and never have gone to 
the drinking-place at all ? Yes ; because you would have had a clear 
head, hard muscles, and could have gone to work at once and produced 
more wealth to take the place of that destroyed. The liquor-dealer took 
your monej r and unfitted your brain and muscles for the production of 
more wealth.' 

' ' In the Southern States you will see, in different places, clinging to 
the trees, the plant known to botanists as the mistletoe. You will say it 
is a beautiful plant, and yet the botanist will tell you that it is a base 
plant. You ask why ? Climb up the tree and see. W T hat will you find ? 
The plant putting its roots down into the earth to suck its life from in- 
organic matter ? No. It is thrusting its rootlets into the bark of the 
tree, sucking its life from other life, living by the destruction of organic 
life. Botanists call it a parasite. Among insects you have the same 
class. Go out along the old California trail in my own State or in Wyo- 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 555 

ming, anywhere between the Missouri Kiver and the coast, stop in one of 
the old sod ranches and tell the keeper of it that you want a bed. Stip- 
ulate that it shall be unoccupied, and labor under the delusion that you 
will be given such a bed. When the time comes you disrobe, retire, 
and start for dreamland. You will have to start pretty quick to get 
there. Just as you are passing over the border something starts from 
your foot along up the leg. It stops, and you know where it lingers. 
You have a very urgent desire to put your hand down and interview it. 
By the time you reach down, there is something on your back and some- 
thing on your side. You roll, and kick, and strike ; it will be fortunate 
for you if you said your prayers before you went to bed ; it may keep 
you from saying something worse before you get up. At last you can 
endure it no longer ; you spring out, light a lamp, and throw down the 
covering. See them run ! the flat-headed cowards ! 

"Oh, how humanity loathes them! The whole family — mosquitoes, 
gnats, jiggers, cockroaches, bed-bugs ; ugh ! 

" Come up higher, to the highest order God created on earth, and you 
have the same type. Every gambler in this country is a parasite on 
social and business life. He is a man who, through the meshes of his 
games, entraps other men, and grows rich by the ruin of his victims; a 
man who takes value without returning an equivalent. Every dram- 
shop in this country bears the same relation to society. The liquor- 
seller comes into your town, locates, commences his business, and sells 
his wares. What is the result ? As the shingles go on his house, they 
tumble off the houses of his patrons. As he wears broadcloth, his vic- 
tims come to rags. As he drives up the street with his nice team, his 
victims plod, with hods on their shoulders, earning money to buy the 
liquor man another team. 

" As you meet the liquor-seller's wife, with her silks and satins, trip- 
ping down the street, you meet the victim's wife, scantily clad, carrying 
a basket of clothes she has washed to earn money to buy food for her 
babies. You meet the liquor-dealer's boy flying his kite, while his vie- 



556 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

tim's boy meets you with : ' Mister, won't you give me just one penny 
to buy bread ? I am starving.' 

" The license man objects : ' But the liquor-dealers do not get rich or 
their wives wear silks or satins.' True ; the picture is what would really 
be the condition of the liquor-seller's family but for the fact that blood- 
money always curses the receiver. Money made from the sale of liquor 
is like money made from gambling — hard to keep. But, my license 
friend, is not my point strengthened by your objection ? For, it being 
true, the liquor traffic curses even the families of those who engage in 
it. It is a universal curse, without a redeeming trait. 

" The liquor-seller lives by ruining his customers. The dram-shop of 
this country, worse than the devil-fish of Victor Hugo, not only wraps 
its arms around its victim directly, but thrusts those insatiate arms into 
their homes, taking the carpets, pictures, books — everything that makes 
home pleasant for wife and children, and drawing into its maw the very 
element that civilizes and Christianizes the country. 

" Suppose that I could take all the money which the producing com- 
munity of the State of Iowa could make — I am not speaking of the money 
you could borrow in the Eastern States — but all the money you can 
make in a year. Pile it here on the table. This money must build the 
homes and fences ; lay down the carpets and buy the books ; it must 
run the stores, run the manufactories, carry on the newspapers, and 
build up all other kinds of trade. It is the life-blood of commerce. 
When you have it piled up here, the lawyers, doctors, ministers, mer- 
chants, newspaper men, and manufacturers gather around. Five thousand 
liquor-sellers step forward, and say : f More than nine million dollars of 
that is ours. ' You say : ' No ; ' but they say : ' Gentlemen, we bought 
the privilege of the first grab at it, and that grab we are going to have.' 

' ' My friend, are you in business in Des Moines ? Do you not know 
this to be true : If a farmer who drinks liquor comes into this city with 
one dollar in his pocket he will spend it for grog, and ask you to trust 
him for a dress for his wife ? Do you not know that the saloons of this 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 557 

city and other cities are located on your principal business streets, and 
that they sell their liquors for cash, while you trust for the necessaries 
of life ? Do you sell jewelry V If you do, do you sell the best of your 
jewelry to the man who spends his money in grog-shops ? Do you sell 
nice clothing ? How much do you sell to the man who spends the 
greater part of his money in a drinking-place ? Do you sell silk dresses, 
my friend ? Are the patrons of the dram-shop your customers ? Do you 
not know, business men, as a matter of fact, that the dram-shop unfits 
its patrons for you, and takes the money which would buy nice things 
to beautify the home — buy nice clothes and good food — leaving the home 
without these blessings ? 

" 'Bat,' says one, 'the liquor-dealer buys these things.' 'Oh, yes, 
gentlemen ; but he is one where his patrons are a hundred. Where you 
sell him one suit of clothes you lose the sale of a hundred suits to his 
customers. Where you sell him one picture to go into his home to 
beautify it, you fail to sell his customers a hundred pictures to make 
their homes pleasant for their children and families.' 

" Take a leech ; press all the blood out of it. Now I will show you a 
trick of license economy. I take a lancet, draw a scratch on my arm, 
and say to the leech : ' Suck.' It does. Just look at it. It is growing 
respectable— it is getting sleek, and smooth, and fat. When it is full, 
it will let go. There is this difference between insect leeches and human 
leeches : an insect leech ceases sucking when he is full, while a human 
leech will continue to suck as long as there is any money in the pockets 
of the victims or until he is choked off. 

" I want to show you the statesmanship of license advocates. 

" I take the leech and squeeze it ; two or three drops of blood come 
from its mouth and I swallow them, and say I have gained so much 
blood. Some boy in this house cries out : ' You are foolish. Every drop 
of that blood was in your body — the leech sucked it out of you. You 
have only got part of it back, and that part in a way that will do you 
more injury than good.' Liquor men come into your State, and the law 



558 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

draws a scratch on your business life and sticks them on, and says : 
' Suck.' See them change their clothes ! See them grow fat as they live 
on the business life of the city and the country ! When the year rolls 
around, the city council inverts them, and squeezes out of them five 
hundred, one thousand, or fifteen hundred dollars, and says : - Ha ! ha ! 
we have saved so much money to the city.' But where did the liquor- 
dealer get the money ? He did not have it when he came here. He 
came into our State, and without giving a single thing of value — without 
building up society, without helping society, he has sucked from it 
thousands of dollars. He keeps the largest part, and gives you a pit- 
tance to be allowed to continue. You take it, and congratulate your- 
selves that you are dividing up with the spoiler of your homes, your 
prosperity, and your civilization. 

" Build up a city, gentlemen? Just as well build up a man by put- 
ting lice on his head as to hope to build up the material interests of a 
city by opening dram-shops ! In every business relation the liquor- 
traffic of the country is an institution which receives value without re- 
turning it. It lives on society as parasites live on other bodies. 

"A saloon bears the same relation to legitimate business that abed- 
bug does to a man who sleeps in the bed where the bug lives. Eecently 
a lady said to me : ' I wish you would not use such horrid comparisons.' 
I did not ask her how she knew they were horrid. I simply said : ' My 
dear madam, if I should catch a bed-bug and an ant, and place them 
here with microscopes over them, would you come and look at them V ' 
'Yes.' ' Well, I submit the bed-bug is prettier than the ant — prettier 
body, prettier legs. If I had mentioned the ant, you would not have 
objected?' 'No.' 'Then why object to my mentioning the better- 
looking insect ? Is it not from simply the way it makes its living ? ' 

" Ladies and gentlemen, you would admire a louse as much as you do 
a honey-bee if it lived in the same way. It is not the anatomy of the 
insect. Some of the parasites are among the most beautiful of insects. 
It is the way they live — by sucking their life out of other life— that 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 559 

raises the feeling of disgust and leads to their destruction. It is not a 
liquor-seller's clothes or looks which causes society to detest him and 
his trade : it is the way he lives in society— a mere parasite on business 
life. As the shingles go on his house they fall off the house of his cus- 
tomer ; as he and his family live easily, in idleness, his customer and 
his customer's family suffer in rags. For this crime of parasitism he is 
on trial. 

" I suppose 1 ought to say, in justice to myself, that I never like to 
compare things unfavorably. I do not like to drag anything into a posi- 
tion where it ought not to be, and I feel at this point like apologizing — 
to the bed-bug. You ask what I mean ? I will tell you. I never knew 
one bed-bug mean enough to eat another bed-bug, or one louse mean 
enough to eat another louse. It remains for the last and highest order, 
which God created in His own image, to develop the type which will 
live on their own kind and off their own species ; who will fasten the 
fangs of parasitic avarice in the pulsating flesh of their own kin, their 
own blood, their own sex, and their own race ; and grow rich, not by 
the destruction of other species, not by the destruction of other orders, 
but by the destruction of individuals who feel the same, who enjoy the 
same, as they do. It is unfair to a parasite that lives on other forms of 
life to compare it with a class low enough, vile enough, to live on its 
own kind without a feeling of sympathy, without a pulsation of regret. 

" Again, the liquor traffic is the enemy of home life. The keystone to 
American civilization is the American home. I would I could take you 
to the frontier — to the cattle and mining towns of this country, where 
home life is comparatively unknown, and by ocular demonstration im- 
press this fact upon your minds — show you how the words ' mother ' 
and ' home ' have the power to awaken the latent manhood in, and lead 
out to a grander and better life, men seemingly lost to all influences for 
good. You, especially you business men, know how great this influence 
is on public life. The opposition you meet, the trickery and fraud you 
see practised, make you hard, uncharitable, cynical, and, when gone 



560 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

from home for months, bitter and selfish. You return to your home, 
and in the presence of wife and children, hatred, selfishness, bitterness, 
cynicism, vanish like the cold, clammy, poisonous March fog before the 
morning sun. Home life and love is the sun which fructifies all the 
nobler impulses of man's nature. Few men go from home with the kiss 
of wife upon their lips and the soft touch of baby fingers lingering in 
pleasant memories on their neck but feel more charity for their fellow- 
men, more love for humanity, and a renewed desire to build themselves 
up in all that pertains to true manhood. Home is the moral and politi- 
cal conservator of the nation, the antidote of communism, socialism, 
riot, vice, and bloodshed. A man who goes from home with the soften- 
ing influences of womanhood's homage and childhood's love lingering 
about him seldom goes to murder, rob, or incite riot. 

" Into this garden of American hope the breath of the liquor traffic 
comes like the hot winds of the desert. By the use of the things sold 
in the dram-shop, all the finer feelings of the husband and father are 
injured and his passions stimulated, and from being the head— the life 
of the home — he soon becomes a despot and a terror. The money 
which should be used to buy pictures, books, carpets, and other things 
to make home pleasant is spent to still further lower and degrade him. 

' ' A drunkard's ' home ' ! Can there be any greater mockery of the sacred 
word ? Any institution or custom which causes such results is a terrible 
enemy to American liberty and civilization. 

" Again, the liquor traffic is the enemy of an honest ballot and a fair 
count. The effect of the dram-shop is to destroy the intellectual force 
and moral character of its patrons, as well as to reduce them financially, 
often to beggary. The high moral sense which should govern every 
voter is lost when a diseased craving for stimulants controls a man. In 
such a condition he is open to corrupt influences, and comes to regard 
his vote as a merchantable commodity which ought to bring enough in 
the markets of corruption to minister to his appetite and supply his 
wants. The threat of the brewers in their late convention was based 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 5C1 

■upon the knowledge that the traffic bad placed thousands of men in such 
a moral, physical, and financial condition that they could be corrupted. 
The liquor men have always boasted of their political power obtained in 
this way ; and many a candidate has felt it necessary to leave money 
with the liquor-seller to influence the bummer vote. Look at Chicago, 
New York, and other cities. An honest vote in some parts of those 
cities is impossible. ' In what parts ? ' Those where the dram-shops 
are most plentiful. Unless the liquor traffic of the country is destroyed, 
it will do for the whole nation what it has done for the great centres of 
population ; and as the life of this Government depends largely on the 
purity of the ballot-box, which can only be guaranteed by the morality 
and intelligence of the individual voter, the Government must destroy 
the dram-shops or they will destroy the Government. 

" This is, in part, the case for the people. The issue raised is one of 
simple fact. Guilty or not guilty ? The traffic must plead to the in- 
dictment. If the charges made are false, the amendment should be de- 
feated. If they are true, it must, for the good of the whole country, be 
carried. Standing on the street corners, blowing or bulldozing, does 
not meet the counts in the indictment against this villainous social 
criminal. 

" Does regulation regulate ? These charges are made against licensed 
dram-shops. If the charges are true, license is a failure. The license 
system of grog-shops is on trial, and it will not benefit liquor-sellers to 
cry out ' Stop thief ! ' with the idea of turning public attention from the 
real issue. Is the licensed traffic guilty of the crimes and misdemeanors 
alleged ? If it is, then license is a failure. The condition of things cannot 
be worse. The defendants must meet the indictment and show its counts 
false, and that dram-shops are a blessing, that license is a success, that 
they obey law, that the liquor traffic purines the ballot-box, discourages 
corruption, builds up society, and promotes law and order. If they can 
show this, their business is safe. Liquor men, the voters of Iowa are 
waiting for you to meet the facts. Will you do it, or dodge and cry, 



562 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINGH. 

' Keep it out of politics ; ' ' Prohibition is a failure ; ' ' Beer is a tem- 
perance beverage ; ' ' Moral suasion is the way to work ' ? These ques- 
tions are not involved in the campaign. The license system of grog-shops 
is being tried by its record, and you must confine yourselves to the 
issues ; any evasion or failure to meet the charges fairly, honestly, and 
manfully will be a confession of guilt, and will be so regarded by the 
people. 

" But, ladies and gentlemen, the drunkard -makers cannot and will not 
try to explain away or justify the record they themselves have made. 
Every charge made by the amendment advocates is true, and the de- 
fence, as outlined by the brewers of Iowa, is in keeping with the nature 
and character of the traffic, not only in Iowa, but elsewhere. A telegram 
from Dayton, O., received to-day, says : ' The Dayton Journal is being 
boycotted by members of the liquor associations on account of its stand 
on the Pond and Smith bills.' 

' ' The record of the liquor business, the creed of the brewers, the ad- 
missions of their advocates, show conclusively that the dram-shop is a 
bulldozer, a rebel, a defiant outlaw, which assassinates business, charac- 
ter, or life, as it may deem best 3 to intimidate opposition, and prevent 
investigation of its record and effects. These cowards are universal 
bulldozers. I never knew the liquor business to do a manly thing in 
the world. I never knew it to make a manly fight. I never knew it to 
stand squarely on an issue. Its whole defence is a show of defiance, a 
show of bravado, a show of bulldozing, a show of braggadocio ; and 
when these fail, the defence is private, cowardly assassination. What is 
the first argument brought against the amendment in this State ? ' You 
cannot prohibit the sale of liquor. ' What does that mean ? Rebellion ! 

" If prohibition will not prohibit, what is the cause of its failure ? 
The women will obey the law, the decent men will obey the law, and if 
it fails it will be because the liquor outlaws refuse to obey the will of the 
people. They are self-confessed traitors to good government. 

" I tell the liquor men of this country that if they think they are 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 563 

greater than this Government, the same thought has been entertained 
by other men. There is one thing more certain than that — this Govern- 
ment is greater than any class of rebels : it can enforce any law which a 
majority of this people, through their legislatures, say shall be the 
supreme law of this State. This must be taken for granted — that the 
State of Iowa can enforce any law that may be passed by a majority in 
its Legislature. If the votes of the majority of citizens expressed in the 
statutes of Iowa cannot be enforced ; if five thousand saloon-keepers 
could bulldoze and intimidate the Government of this commonwealth, 
then the sooner that Government goes into bankruptcy, and you get one 
which is good for something, the better it will be for humanity, civiliza- 
tion, and liberty. 

" Through the canvass in Kansas the same thing was said. They did 
not say that the charges made against the dram-shop were false. They 
said : ' If you pass the amendment you cannot enforce it ; ' and, armed 
with bottled beer, they tried to bulldoze the State. "What was the 
result ? 

" Coming from Topeka, recently, to Kansas City, I was sitting in the 
seat just behind the leader of the anti-Prohibitionists of that State — I 
had the pleasure of meeting him on the public platform during the can- 
vass and discussing the question with him — we were talking about other 
questions for a time. At last he turned to me, and drawing his face 
down as long as Job's when he was in affliction, went on to say : ' Finch, 
all I predicted at Bismarck Grove in regard to this accursed law has 
come true.' 

" « Well, what is it ? ' 

" 'Why,' he said, 'it is killing Kansas. Germans are leaving the 
State by hundreds. It is driving men out, and immigration will not 
come. The State is dead. ' 

' ' I said to him : ' You have this consolation : if the prohibitory law 
has killed your State, if it has driven large numbers out of it, then if 
Kansas is not to be renowned for the number of its people, it will be re- 



564 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

nowned for the sobriety, intelligence, and the morality of those who 
remain.' 

" ' Hold on,' said the gentleman ; ' there is more whiskey and beer 
sold in Kansas to-day than there ever was before. You can get it every- 
where.' 

" Looking closely at him, I asked : ' For what, then, are those men 
leaving Kansas ? ' He saw he was caught, and abandoned the conver- 
sation. 

" If I pick up a copy of one daily paper published in Chicago, or an- 
other from St. Louis, I frequently see an editorial saying, in substance, 
that ' Kansas is dead ; ' ' Immigration to Kansas has stopped ; ' ' The 
prohibitory law has killed Kansas.' Perhaps the very next day I pick 
up a copy of the same paper, and I see an editorial or an article by an 
anonymous correspondent, saying : ' Whiskey is being sold in every 
town in Kansas just as free as water ; ' ' There are more drunkards in 
Kansas than when the law was passed.' 

" If men will lie, they should be consistent liars. The liars who are 
fighting against prohibition lack intelligence, for their lies contradict 
each other. In Maine they have fought the prohibitory law by the same 
contradictory lying. 

" If the battle had been between the liquor rebels of Kansas and the 
moral citizens of Kansas, there would not have been an open grog-shop 
in the State three months after the law passed. No sooner had the law 
been passed to enforce the amendment, than the combined liquor power 
of this nation stood behind the outlaws to encourage them and help 
them to defy the supreme law of that State ; and what is still meaner, 
men from other States went in to help the outlaws assassinate the moral- 
ity and the character of Kansas. 

" I remember reading in one of the great newspapers of Chicago a 
long article, saying that in the Southern States the constitutional amend- 
ments were defied and the Civil Eights bill was a dead letter. The 
editor appealed to the solid North to rise en masse and at the ballot-box 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 565 

crush out this rebellion against the Constitution and the laws. It said : 
' When an article is in the Constitution, when statutes have been passed 
to enforce it, men are rebels who defy it.' And yet this same news- 
paper, the Chicago Tribune, is down in the mud before the liquor power 
of this nation, and has become the apologist for and the sympathizer 
with the liquor rebels of Kansas. It advises them to defy the supreme 
law of that State and the statutes made to enforce it. Kansas' grand 
Governor — St. John — it calls every mean name which it can find in the 
drunkard-maker's vocabulary. Oh, if there is any one thing that would 
make every drop of blood in my veins grow hot with indignation, it is 
the way that the opposition meet this issue ! I know John P. St. John, 
of Kansas. I have seen him with his family, standing, as he does, the 
grandest Eepublican Governor of the country. The opposition have not 
met him like men ; they have called him everything that was vile, at- 
tempted to assassinate his character, traduce him, and continue to tra- 
duce him ; and men who ought to be in a better business have become 
tools of the liquor rebels to carry on this dirty work. 

" Can the liquor business be stopped? Men of Iowa, there is no need 
of asking that question here. When the saloon men stand up and say 
prohibition will not prohibit, and that the traffic cannot be stopped, I 
answer: 'I know better.' The idea of five thousand liquor-dealers 
being able to control this State is absurd. When I hear a man or find a 
newspaper whimpering and crying, ' It ought to be stopped, but we can- 
not stop it ; they will sell anyhow,' I get disgusted, especially in this 
State, settled by old soldiers. Some of you men, a few years ago, left 
your State, your mothers, wives, and children, and went down to the 
Southern land, and there, in the face of cannon — and you knew that 
behind those guns were brave men fighting for what tney believed to be 
right, as you were fighting for what you believed to be right — in face of 
the sheeted fire and leaden hail, where death was on every breeze, you 
fought, suffered, and bled. For what ? Just simply to say this Govern- 
ment was able to hold itself together, to enforce its laws, and to live. 



566 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH 

" The idea that in this State, filled with men who w'ear the scars of 
honorable battle — scars which were obtained in strife that makes them 
honored throughout the world — the idea of these men getting down to 
whimper, and say : ' The State cannot enforce the law ! ' 

" A Union general was riding up to the rear of his forces at the battle 
of Antietam, when he saw from the front ranks a tall soldier start, and, 
in double-quick time, make his way to the rear. The general was aston- 
ished, and, looking at him for a moment, said : ' Halt, sir. Go back to 
your regiment. ' 

" The fellow stopped, commenced to cry, and said : ' General, I can't ; 
I am a coward, and I told them I was a coward when they drafted me 
into the army.' 

" ' Well,' said the general, ' if I was a coward I would not be a great 
baby. Go back, sir.' 

" ' Well, I wish I was a baby, and a gal baby at that.' 

" Ridiculous / Yes ; but is it half as ridiculous as for men, who are 
the commonwealth of Iowa, to go whimpering around, 'It ought to 
be stopped, but we cannot stop it ; they will see, anyhow ' ? 'Mr. 
Liquor-seller, you are in a mighty mean business— you are ruining 
homes— you are making criminals— you are filling jails — you are crowd- 
ing almshouses— you are breaking the Sabbath— you are damning souls ; 
but we cannot stop you— you will sell anyhow. Please give us five 
hundred dollars with which to build sidewalks in our cities. ' 

" Ladies and gentlemen, this Government is greater than any of its 
vices. When any of its vices become greater in force, the Government 
will die. When any class of men is able to defy the Government sue 
cessfully, then it becomes the autocrat. If you grant that the liquor- 
dealers of this State are greater in power in the State, then you grant 
that Iowa has ceased to exist as a commonwealth and has become an 
oligarchy of the liquor traffic. The supreme power of the State is the 
Government, and if the dram-shops have power greater than it exerts, 
the State is merely a puppet in the hands of a vital, aggressive, and 



\ 



THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 507 

active force. The threat of the Iowa brewers, the threat of the Iowa 
distillers, is an open declaration that the State of Iowa is not able to 
control them, and that they propose to control the State. The question, 
as it conies to you, is simply : ' Will you be men ; will you assert your 
power to consider the question on its merits and settle it, or will you be 
bulldozed — will you be intimidated — will you be corrupted, and sell 
your birth -right for a mess of pottage ? ' 

" This, ladies and gentlemen, is the case as I wish to present it to 
you ; take it to your homes ; think over it fairly, fully, honestly ; and 
when you render your verdict, have these two things in mind : 1st. Your 
obligations to your own homes — your own families. 2d. Your obliga- 
tions as citizens of a State, to protect all homes, all families, all citizens. 

" The temperance question was never so dear to me — the cause never 
seemed so much my own, although I always loved it— as it was after the 
little bright-eyed boy came into my home. When he comes and climbs 
on my knee, puts his chubby little arms around my neck, and calls me 
' papa,' the thought comes to me, ' Will there ever be the time when my 
boy wall reel along the street a drunkard, wear the chains of a criminal, 
or die in the almshouse, as the result of drink ? ' And so, if I could vote 
in your State in June, I should just ask what would be the relation of 
the grog-shop to that boy of mine. 

" You may say, ' I have no boys ; I have girls.' 

" A gentleman, some years ago, came into my office, and said to me : 
' What are the divorce laws of this State ? ' 

" I said : ' I hope you are not going to apply for a divorce. It is an 
exceedingly disagreeable kind of litigation.' 

"A couple of ladies had come in with him. I saw one was an old 
lady with gray hair, the other young, with care lines visible in her face, 
and a look of mental misery and suffering there. 

f ' I have one girl,' the man said, and he introduced me to her, ' the 
light of our home ; and if she is here, I want to say to you she is just as 
good a girl as God ever gave a father. She was always kind to her 



568 THE LIFE OF JOHN B. FINCH. 

mother. There never was a time when it was necessary to punish her 
in our home ; if she did wrong, she was ready to come and ask forgive- 
ness. She married a man I thought to be worthy of her. We did not 
know he drank, but it was so. Five years ago they were married. God 
has given them one child. The father drank more and more. My 
daughter did not tell me for a long time ; she would not let us know 
how she was suffering. One night her husband went home, and in a 
drunken rage knocked her down with a chair.' The old man stepped 
forward, raised the hair from her forehead, and showed the scar. 
' Struck her,' continued the father, ' struck her like a brute, the man 
who had sworn to love and honor her. He took her —the light of our 
home — from our arms, and then abused her like a dog.' 

" Gentlemen voters, such may be your story some day. The little girl 
who will come to you to-night with bright eyes and loving smile, who 
will run and bring the slippers to papa, may some day return to you 
with a broken heart, her life ruined by a man who has been wrecked in 
the saloons, if you vote to continue them. When you make up your 
verdict, take into consideration your home interests and heart interests. 

" There is one thing, however, important as are these interests, that 
is still higher : the thought of how God would have you act. Dare you 
go to the polls on June 27th and cast a vote that you cannot ask God 
to bless ? My friends, as you go there and vote, think if you in the 
silence of your chamber can ask God to bless the vote. If you vote to 
continue the drunkard factories, of course you are willing to pray God 
to prosper them, to ask that their customers may increase. 

" So, if I were on the jury, I would take into consideration my home 
interests, the interests of my country, the approval of my God. and then, 
examining the facts, I would vote either to shut the saloons or to con- 
tinue them, as my judgment and conscience dictated. 

" Gentlemen, when you have written your verdict on June 27th, 
it will either roll Iowa up to the plane of the civilization of Kansas 
and Maine, or allow her to remain down in the old darkness of com- 



THE LIFE OF JOIIN ,B. FINCH. 569 

promise and partnership with wrorjg. God grant that Iowa may lead 
the way through which my State and the other parts of this Republic 
may follow, until in all the galaxy of American States there shall not be 
one that will license a business to ruin its citizens, to debauch its moral- 
ity, or to break down its institutions. 

" ; The crisis is upon us ! face to face with us it stands, 

With solemn lips of questioning, like the Sphinx in Egypt sands. 
This flay vie fashion destiny, the weh of life we spin, 
This day for all hereafter choose we holiness or sin. 
Even now from misty Gerizim, or Ebal's cloudy crown, 
Call we the dews of blessing or the holts of cursing; down.' " 



wk 



